Retail wheeling's serious setback

Debate over retail wheeling -- the purchase of electricity by an industrial customer from a source other than its local utility -- will undoubtedly intensify in the coming months as a result of recent setbacks in Michigan and New Mexico. The negative actions in these states clearly signal that the retail wheeling issue will be difficult to address within any individual state. If the goal of retail wheeling is to create a true market for electricity that allows competition across state lines, some form of regional cooperation or national coordination will be necessary, perhaps patterned on the reciprocal agreements within regions or between individual states that have emerged within the banking industry.