Session 1:
Vision and Policy

Competition advocates are confused about a vision for the future of the electric industry. Our vision so far seems to be saving customers a penny per kilowatt-hour. This is a profoundly unexciting vision on which to predicate the blood, sweat, and tears that will be necessary to transform this industry. Far more exciting is a vision predicated on a revolution in products and services that are more commensurate with the 21st century consumer’s lifestyle, integrated with other network-flowing content goods.

We must be clear about where we want to go and why. The goal here is not lower prices but rather to set “right prices,” prices consistent with achieving supply and demand equilibrium. Regulation retards effective technological deployment; markets enhance it. Regulated monopolies are beholden to the entity that sets rate of return.

Completely apart from any other benefits, there is a philosophical principle that freedom and choice should be preferred over coercion and monopoly.

There are five reasons to transition from the monopoly model to the competitive model. They are:

Competitive markets need tried-and-true policy prescriptions grounded in reliance on “right” prices and market reliance, not stale, self-interested, least common denominator proposals. Coming up with such policy recommendations will require both maturity of judgment and sacrifice of short-term objectives.