Consumer Survey Shows Strong Support for Competition in New England's Electricity Markets

Consumers in New England strongly support the power of competitive markets to stimulate investment in clean energy and combat global warming, an annual survey by the New England Energy Alliance (NEAA) demonstrates.
 
Nearly 8 out of 10 New Englanders surveyed voiced support for competition in electricity and consumer choice. The 83 percent preference for the power to choose among electricity suppliers was up five percentage points from the group’s 2009 survey. New England’s competitive market, which in most states frees consumers from monopoly electricity service providers, is structured to ensure power suppliers compete against each other to provide the best possible service at the lowest cost in order to attract and retain customers. The result? A nearly 50 percent drop in the average price of wholesale electricity from 2009 to 2010.
 
Market forces drew strong public support as a means to create needed investment in new electricity generation resources and infrastructure. Nearly two-thirds of those polled believe the competitive electricity marketplace, free of government mandate, provides adequate financial incentives to spur new generating plants and infrastructure projects. Competitive markets attract investors who bear the risk of developing projects and insulate consumers from poor or failed decisions. This is a dramatic difference from the old system where monopoly -protected utilities routinely passed the cost of poor investment decisions along to captive ratepayers.
 
More than 60 percent of New England consumers – a 10 percent increase over last year’s results –supported a market-based approach to addressing global warming, showing a strong preference over government-driven mandates. Clean energy sources were heavily favored, with 83 percent of New Englanders supporting wind energy.
 
These survey results offer a strong endorsement of COMPETE’s joint statement with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) advocating Congress to support market-based policies to reduce emissions and stimulate clean energy. Further, statistics from the American Wind Energy Association show the unique characteristics of organized competitive electricity markets enable clean energy generation to thrive.
 
When well-structured competitive markets like New England’s are allowed to mature, the economic and environmental benefits are clear for all to see. “We saw a substantial increase in support for market-based, rather than government, approaches to addressing energy-related concerns,” noted Paul Afonso, NEAA Executive Director.
 
Policymakers considering measures to roll back competitive reforms in the electricity sector would do well to note the continuing and growing support among consumers for competition in electricity.

Joel Malina | June 7, 2010