Letters.(Letter to the Editor)

Views on national energy policy: Think locally, think nationally

What shape will a restructured national electricity market take? Is the Bush administration on target or off base on energy policy? What next in Iraq? What color is your money? These are a few of the things on the minds of EUN readers this month.

On Energy Policy

Dear Editor:

Given a "new" political focus on states and regions to help FERC implement a restructured national electricity market, the timing and design of a long-awaited standard market design could very well be decided as much by local and regional concerns as by FERC rulemakings. The ability of all classes of customers to get competitive energy prices and innovative products, services, information, and technologies will remain a state-by-state, region-by region battle between competitive supplies and competitive market designs versus the decades-old system of cross subsidies and monopoly rents associated with bundled utility services. As long as monopoly services are bundled with competitive services, true price competition and its benefits cannot be achieved.

The industry has stabilized from prior market design failures and market power abuses and is on a pathway of renewed growth. However, without nationwide standards the full value to consumers of true price competition will be harder to achieve.

From its inception, the National Energy Marketers Association has functioned under the premise that opening markets would be debated on a state-by state basis. Following thousands of comments, briefs, technical conferences, administrative rulemakings, and orders, only a small number of customers really have the opportunity to shop for energy in the same manner they can shop for any other competitively provided product or service. The current barriers to billions of dollars in consumer savings, productivity, and increased job-creating investments should not be difficult to achieve. A relatively short list of comparatively easy steps can achieve the start of an equitable and efficient restructuring of U.S. energy markets: