When energy deregulation created the buzz almost a decade ago, most people were unsure of what to do, let alone what to think about it. What is it, exactly? A brief history lesson would tell you that this began when the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA) gave the utility companies (the ones who own the transformers, wires, electrical cables) monopoly over providing electricity. When OPEC\’s worldwide oil embargo generated a huge surge of electrical usage in the 70\’s, Congress then passed the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) so that utilities would now use renewable sources of energy.

Twenty years ago, Congress, the utility companies, and the federal government pushed for competition, thus giving birth to the National Energy Policy Act that virtually allowed for power companies to be pitted against each other in terms of gaining consumer loyalty. In 1996, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued Order 888 – this forced the utility companies to open up to competitive markets. What we now know to be the energy deregulation plan was just a pilot program that started in New Hampshire that Arizona, California, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island soon followed. Because these six states allowed deregulation at the state level, people started to demand deregulation at a national capacity.

As of writing this article, there are now 31 states that have energy deregulation in place, Hawaii not included. One thing to note is that California\’s failed deregulation experiment is also cause for concern in Congress, which of course can greatly affect the decision in making national electricity deregulation a reality.

A couple of things to consider: electricity deregulation at a national level will not only ensure economic stability because of competitive pricing, access to energy resources that are sometimes only available to one or two states can be available to everybody. You wouldn\’t want your neighbour to get all the free channels while you\’re sitting there only getting 20 channels, right? Variety in consumption is always a good thing.

Economic stability and standing will be improved because this will also create jobs. The more companies who open as energy retailers, the more people they\’ll need to work as customer service operators, technicians, electricians, etc.

The power of a consumer is at the forefront of electricity deregulation. When utilities had all the say on providing electricity, customers never had an option to switch or change companies. But because of this new structure, where energy service providers are at the consumer\’s mercy, the power shifts to you. You have a say whether or not to keep your current provider. You now have the ability to influence these same companies in being more eco-friendly by going green when it comes to renewable energy.

Lastly, be proactive and research. Do your homework and look it up. Google it. Watch YouTube videos about this topic, read up on it. Don\’t stop until you have quenched your educational thirst, because being informed is better than being ignorant about an issue as important as this.

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Are you looking for more information regarding energy deregulation? Visit http://www.Ambit2Save.com today!

Author Bio: Are you looking for more information regarding energy deregulation? Visit http://www.Ambit2Save.com today!

Category: Business
Keywords: energy deregulation,electricity deregulation