The utility earns a rate of return rather than a typical profit. The agency decides what percentage of the company s capital will be allowed for that rate. It is not a guaranteed rate of return but, if the utility is managed properly, it will earn the rate allowed and sometimes a little extra. Marketing companies that are not regulated operate as any other business and earn money by making profits. Risk is more crucial because the company does not have a fixed means of recovering money spent to do business.
Profit is the name of the business game and competition is what impacts the profitability.
Unregulated companies make profits, though not always. Companies that make profits thrive and get bigger. Those not profitable fade away. Georgia was the first state where gas sales at the local level faced open access. A major local seller quickly failed when it could not make a profit in a competitive atmosphere.