The Future of Standard Offer: A Residential and Low-Income View

Proponents of deregulation point to success in the UK (residential rates up 25%, industrial rates down 13%), Texas (residential rates up 15%), and Ohio (residential customers are charged $3.21 for every $1.00 they "save"). Further, separating customer service functions from utilities to new marketing companies has brought slamming, redlining, mass disconnections of service, and other abuses. Instead of replicating these failures in an effort to rescue deregulation for marketers, focus should be on solutions to real customer problems: price volatility, impending shortages of power (with accompanying price spikes), and an affordability crisis for low-income families.