Blame the rocky start of electric choice on a number of things, including a June heat wave. The summer weather across the Midwest caused a temporary shortage in electricity that pushed wholesale prices hundreds of times higher than normal. The roiling market, in turn, made power suppliers skittish about signing up thousands of customers at low prices in case the same thing were to happen again. The failing prospects of the proposed merger of Duquesne Light's and Allegheny Power's parent companies didn't help either, because the rules of competition would depend on the outcome of the deal. Blame it, too, on the fact that households just don't use enough electricity.
Many companies are eager to compete for lucrative commercial and industrial accounts.
Far fewer are willing to spend the money and hire the people to attract small-usage residential customers. Still, there is one thing to keep in mind. The program is just beginning. Many who have enrolled in the electric choice program have been frightened by the Nov. 1 date included in information they received from their local utility, believing that they must choose a new supplier by that date or forever lose the chance to shop around. That is not the case.