The Next Big Thing.(Brief Article)

While deregulation of the utility industry may be today's hot topic, another concept has surfaced with much less fanfare. It's a theory that could make deregulation look like a footnote in the history of energy. That idea is sustainability.

Deregulation is about new rules, new ways of marketing, and new ways of purchasing energy. Throw in the politics of passing enabling legislation and you have an evolving, complicated story with no certain conclusion. One thing that is safe to say, however, is that deregulation has more to do with accounting than it does with the ultimate cost of energy.

The extent to which deregulation is exclusively about the price of energy is reflected in the comments of those insiders who feel that the real dollar savings available to end-users will come from savvy procurement deals and not from conservation. Deregulation, it seems, is about cheaper energy and …