The Great Electricity Rip-Off: Why Your Bill Keeps Going Up |
For all of my adult life, I have believed that free markets incentivize innovation, generate lower costs, and improve services. Indeed, confidence in the value of free markets is one of the foundations of conservatism, and why I align with the Republican Party.
I have also always felt that conservatives need to be on the lookout for industries that try to co-opt the free market movement, to take advantage of their customers, and do so under the guise of competition. Giving customers options is a good thing, but only if they actually deliver innovations, better services, and lower prices.
Speaking of lower prices, electricity is an issue that is getting a lot of attention. Even our President has weighed in on ensuring the American people are protected from rate increases tied to data centers. Another issue that is impacting how much people pay for electricity is how utilities are, or are not, regulated.
Specifically, it’s worth asking if three decades of deregulation across the country, which has forced utilities to compete to sell power to customers, has delivered lower prices. Or have the deregulated states........