Fortnightly Magazine - November 15 1999

How the FERC's RTO case has split the PUCs into five warring factions.

With momentum building for competition in retail energy markets, and with the real authority seeming to shift to the federal government, do regulators at the state public utility commissions (PUCs) still have a voice in setting policy for the electric transmission grid? After all, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission enjoys exclusive jurisdiction over interstate transmission service. That's the one major utility sector likely to remain heavily regulated for some time.

But does anyone know the real price of power?

You've read the headlines from Maine - how regulators asked for bids for competitive electricity but got prices higher than the old regulated rate.

But it gets worse. The more open the market, the higher the bid.

Central Maine Power and Bangor Hydro-Electric operate within ISO New England, which now is open for competition.

Steep environmental costs mean coal-fired power's competitive edge will drop by half.

A mid increasing pressures to reduce costs, the competitive positions and profitability of U.S. coal-fired power plants will change dramatically in the near-term. Resource Data International Inc.

With encryption of name and address - but disclosure of usage and billing - customers can have their cake and eat it too.

How to assure consumer privacy in energy deregulation has utilities, energy marketers and regulators in a dither.

With a deregulating market, utilities must share their consumer data with energy marketers in their territories. The more information energy marketers have about consumers, the better the products, prices and payment plans they can offer. This information, however, may include sensitive details about a consumer's finances and habits.