Wind energy

Recent calls for Maryland to revert from a competitive electricity market to a monopoly system may be good-intentioned, but they are quite misguided. Innovation has replaced the inefficiencies of the old monopoly system, giving customers new choices, competitive prices and an efficient, reliable power supply.
 

Maine’s competitive electricity market is thriving, evidenced by several recently announced economic and environmental initiatives creating benefits for the state’s consumers.
 

The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) credited competitive markets with reducing air pollution by attracting investment in power plant efficiency and clean energy sources, according to a report in Restructuring Today and Platts Electric Power Daily.
 
Stephen Whitely, NYISO’s CEO, stated that competition has combined with carbon control programs like the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) to sharply lower emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide.

“Competition in wholesale electricity markets has stimulated investments in cleaner generation, increased the use of renewable resources – such as wind power – and encouraged operating changes to improve the overall efficiency of power plants,” said Whitely. 

Customer satisfaction with competition has never been higher in Texas, according to the third annual JD Power and Associates survey on customer satisfaction with retail power suppliers.
 
Retail customers reported increased satisfaction levels and high power supplier switching rates , thanks to a mix of innovative new energy programs, customer service, lower wholesale electricity prices and deals that will save Texas consumers millions of dollars over the next few years while helping to stimulate clean energy technology.
 

With the rapid growth of wind energy and demand for renewable energy sources, electricity providers are working with innovative companies to develop and implement energy storage solutions, according to a recent article by New York Times reporter Matthew Wald.
 

Competition in Texas has created economic and environmental benefits for consumers, the Texas Tribune reports in an article examining the results of the state’s competitive retail market. The COMPETE Coalition applauds the Tribune for correctly identifying many successes of Texas’ competitive electricity market.
 
COMPETE closely follows electricity developments across the country and agrees with many observers that the Texas market is without question one of restructuring’s biggest success stories, providing consumers a robust choice of competitive power suppliers. “From 2002 to mid-2009, 86 percent of customers made at least one observable switch, whether between providers or to a different plan offered by the same provider,” the Texas Tribune reported.
 

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.
 

The case for competitive markets providing tangible economic and environmental benefits gets more compelling with each passing day. The latest data comes from the three organized markets that cover the Northeastern United States – PJM Interconnection, NYISO, and ISO-NE.

Wholesale energy prices fell 45.1 percent across the PJM Interconnection, which covers 13 states and Washington, D.C., PJM Independent Market Monitor says in the 2009 State of the Market Report. This is the lowest annual average price since 2002. In PJM’s most recent capacity auction, 7,050 megawatts (MW) of demand resource offers cleared the auction – equivalent to the capacity of six to eight base load power plants. While the news across PJM is positive, two states in particular stand out for the strength of their markets.

Competitive electricity markets unlock the innovative solutions required to meet America’s energy needs and environmental objectives, said experts at a COMPETE Coalition panel discussion event. Unless markets are opened up to competition, the nation’s energy system cannot reach its full potential.

Competitive markets promote competition among power suppliers to deliver the best possible service to attract and retain customers. Comparatively, in monopoly-protected states, incumbent power providers have no incentive to innovate because ratepayers are captive to their monopoly utility and power suppliers are guaranteed recovery of their costs plus a profit.

The benefits keep accruing for Texas as the state’s competitive electricity market continues to develop. Fast on the heels of a recent study that found Texas energy rates have fallen, news about the abundance of power suppliers and spread of solar energy underscore the fact that competition is having a positive impact on consumers.