Is deregulation working anywhere?
Appeared in January 2002 Country Living

It was about 5 years ago that California enacted its deregulation plan. The results, of course, have been nothing short of disastrous.

It is often pointed out by staunch deregulation advocates, however, that California is an extreme example. That's true. Looking back, there seems to be a mile-long list of unique problems with the California deregulation model.

But since California made its decision to deregulate, 22 other states have followed suit by approving deregulation plans of their own. So how are those states doing?

Let's start with Pennsylvania. It's the state most often lauded as a model of deregulation done right. Consumer Reports magazine says, however, in its June 2001 edition that Pennsylvania electric utilities have recently requested rate increases. Since rate decreases are the number one selling point of deregulation, calling the plan a success would be quite a stretch.

In Arizona, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Texas and Virginia, rate increases have been approved or are pending.

Then there's New York, where rates rose 40 percent this summer and are expected to rise another 25 percent next summer.

Five of the other 22 states have put a hold on implementing their deregulation plans. And five states list reliability problems that have stemmed from deregulation. So what's the moral of the story? That it's impossible for deregulation to work?

Truth is, we don't know. That's why I'm thankful Ohio Cooperatives have taken a wait-and-see approach on the matter. Other industries have taken deregulation in stride and even thrived - the telephone and cable industries for example. But electricity is different. If you think you could do without electricity more easily than other commodities or services if the bills got too high, then you've lived with the convenience of electricity too long to truly appreciate its absence.

Electricity is a matter of life and death for some of our members. That's the most important reason for us to stay on top of this issue.