Electricity prices are falling dramatically in organized competitive markets, particularly when compared with states that stayed with a monopoly-protected utility industry. But these facts are ignored in the most recent attack on electricity competition from the American Public Power Association (APPA).
APPA’s report groups competitive states in the same category as states with monopoly regulation, so it’s a murky picture if comparing competitive states with monopoly states is the goal. Besides, comparing
retail rates on a state-by-state basis is a flawed way to assess the benefits of multi-state regional competitive
wholesale power markets.
Price differentials in electricity have always existed – one reason why competitive states opted to restructure in the first place. For example,
Illinois and
Pennsylvania, two highly competitive states APPA mischaracterizes as regulated, had rates well above the national average prior to restructuring. But consumers in those states now enjoy rates well below the national average.