According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration website the formal definition of deregulation is "the elimination of some or all regulations from a previously regulated industry or sector of an industry". In this case, the electricity and gas sectors of the energy industry are being deregulated on a state-by-state basis just as the telecommunications industry was deregulated in 1996.
Energy deregulation has been adopted by many states over the past several years as a way to allow for multiple energy providers to compete for customers based on price and a higher level of customer service, break the utility monopoly into separate companies or business unit that separate the "monopoly wires and meters company" from the generation company and also the customer service company, and by creating a more competitive pricing market that introduces formerly non-existent market-based efficiencies that keep retail prices down.
As a result of energy deregulation, we are seeing a reduction of pollution caused by energy production by stimulating renewable generator construction as consumers demand more green products. In deregulated energy markets, government regulatory entities are no longer involved in setting the price of energy component of the retail electric bill, which allows for more competitive market. Consumers no longer have to buy from one energy provider; they can buy power from a number of competing companies, where market forces energy providers to become more efficient or risk becoming non-competitive and going out of business.
Deregulated gas and electricity are being decided on a state-by-state basis. Some states have both deregulated gas and electricity, while others only have one or the other and still there are states with neither energy deregulation. Each state has the right to decide whether or not to deregulate energy based on their specific energy situation. The states with the highest energy consumptions have been some of the first to put energy deregulation into practice and thus many deregulated energy providers have emerged. Below are lists of which states have deregulated gas and deregulated electricity.
The following states have deregulated gas or are currently running a pilot program for deregulation:
Georgia, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington DC and West Virginia.
The following states have deregulated electricity:
Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas and Washington DC.
Chairman and CEO Rob Snyder -- Stream Energy -- http://www.streamenergy.net/
U.S. Energy Information Administration -- http://www.eia.doe.gov/
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