Shopping for Competitive Energy Suppliers Grows in Several States

The percentage of customers shopping for alternative energy suppliers has grown in four key restructured markets, according to recently released data from state regulators.
 
These new numbers compiled from earlier this year, combined with “astounding” shopping rates in Pennsylvania’s PPL Electric Utilities service territory, are the latest evidence of competition delivering lower-cost competitively priced electricity to consumers.
 
Nearly 68 percent of customer demand and 58 percent of total usage in Washington D.C. was met with power from a competitive supplier, noted the District of Columbia Public Service Commission. More impressively, nearly 85 percent of commercial & industrial demand and 78 percent of usage was provided by competitive suppliers. 
 
In Texas, the nation’s largest competitive retail market, over 50 percent of residential consumers and about two-thirds of the total load across all customer segments is being served by a non-incumbent supplier, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.
 
Shopping in Rhode Island neared a third of all customers in February, with 29.4 percent of all load being serviced by alternative power suppliers, the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission announced. In New Jersey, hourly rate shopping by large commercial & industrial customers grew to 86 percent of total load and 68.5 percent of all accounts, according to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.  
 
These numbers are yet more evidence that our nation’s well-structured competitive electricity markets are promoting competition among energy market participants and providing economic benefits for customers.

Joel Malina | June 17, 2010