It's hard to argue with him. Deregulation will cause major upheaval in a staid, complacent industry. It could also mean the Northwest loses its grip on the nation's cheapest power rates and California's high rates go down, which is the nightmare of members of Washington's Utilities and Transportation Commission. Many in Washington state are expecting similar legislation here next year, possibly with a transition phase of several years. Even so, in another year or so, utility telemarketers could be calling your home at dinnertime.
Most utilities are already waist-deep in competitive strategies to conquer new and existing markets.
Also, a PSE subsidiary, Seattle-based ConnexT, is producing software for several major utilities nationally, and recently signed a deal with Netscape Communications to do utility billing in California over the Internet. Few management jobs were secure. The upshot was a management team that is 70 percent from Puget Power and 30 percent from Washington Energy, directly reflecting the makeup of 3,000-employee Puget Sound Energy, he says. The reality is that neither company's culture was competitive enough for the future we are facing. That is the bigger challenge, and where we are spending most of our time today.