Utility competition urged for electricity reform

Energy industries have been no exception to the restructuring changes that are taking place because of the emerging global economy, technical advances, and increasing competition. The market for electricity remains the last unrestructured energy market in the US, and generators and consumers will both suffer until regulation is updated and made responsive to today's economy. We must look for new approaches that will reduce the cost of power to consumers and enhance utility revenues at the same time. Regulations need to encourage productivity improvements. A task force in Pennsylvania studied these issues and concluded that the monopoly theory of utilities is obsolete and there should be incentives toward competitive behavior. The author describes the seven guiding principles of the task force and some experiments that would test the approach.