Within the parameters of these four basic requirements, states could decide charges for distribution access for retail customers and generally provide the rules and regulations necessary to assure the safe, reliable provision of distribution access services. Some have suggested that retail competition may disadvantage the small, residential customer. That large purchasers have more bargaining power than small purchasers is a fact of life that exists today. Allowing entry by aggregators and resellers will provide opportunity for small consumers to receive most of the benefits of bulk power purchasing. And it simply is not credible to suggest that sellers of electricity would not compete for the very large amount of revenue that small residential customers pay for electricity each day in the United States.
True competition is the surest way to assure long-term, low prices for all customers.
It is clear from a reading of the Federal Power Act that the FERC lacks the authority to restructure the nation's electricity transmission and distribution system to create real competition. There will be no true competition in the electric utility industry without a national mandate created through federal legislation. It will take too long and there will be too much disparity and protectionism among the states. With federal legislation mandating competition and customer choice, many other related legislative problems could be solved. This legislation could also include an explicit explanation of how current transmission owners will receive just compensation for relinquishing any possessory interest in their transmission system assets.