Consumer Groups Know Deregulation Is Not About the Consumer

In recent comments to the Louisiana Public Service Commission on retail energy “competition,” AARP Louisiana summed up the track record of deregulated electric states:

“Not only have the promised benefits of lower electricity rates and better service not materialized in states that have deregulated but, importantly reliability of the grid has been put at risk. “

Other than not saving customers’ money, not improving serving and degrading grid reliability, electric deregulation has been a rip-roaring success.  Ask Texas as it is stuck with a single retail electric provider with nearly 75 percent market share and a shaky grid still trying to recover from the catastrophe of winter storm Uri.

Meanwhile, consumer groups including The National Consumer Law Center, Public Citizen, the Maryland Energy Advocates Coalition, and the Pennsylvania Utility Law Project commented to the Federal Trade Commission on the FTC’s Green Guides, which seek to inform retail customers about energy marketers claims about their products. The consumer groups call out energy marketers for abusing the easily-abusable Renewable Energy Credit (RECs) to “greenwash” their energy products to consumers.  In reality, the marketers are buying fossil-based products, tacking on a REC, and charging a premium to unsuspecting customers.

Deregulation is sold in a variety of ways to the public, but it keeps coming up short in practice.  To be sure, there are those who benefit – the competitive suppliers, the big customers, particularly from the tech industry –but the regular consumer has seen no benefit, and much confusion.