Therefore, I have directed the Law Department to ask the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to impose more effective wholesale price controls in New York City until more plants are built. More effective transitional price controls will ensure that price increases are kept moderate, while at the same time keeping the signal to private power generation companies that we want them to build in the City. I urge the State Public Service Commission to join us in this request. Continued Support of Deregulation New York was one of the first States to deregulate its electric industry, and while this deregulation has resulted in some of the same growing pains that occurred with the deregulation of industries like airlines and telephones, I continue to strongly support this process. History has shown us that free markets do a much better job than government regulators at ensuring that customers pay the lowest prices.
Open competition encourages accountability and innovation.
For example, the deregulation of the natural gas and electric industries has resulted in new technologies such as combined-cycle natural gas generation and fuel cells, which promise a new era in clean energy. And while many people find it fashionable to be critical of electricity deregulation, I would remind them that there were many more people who were critical of the sharp price increases that resulted from the failures of regulation during the 1970s and 80s. Deregulation itself is a response to the inherent problems of consumers interacting with a monopoly. Deregulation should be completed. The problem is that it was done immediately, without giving the market sufficient time and incentives to evolve into a truly free market.