Evidence of a failed electricity market
From today's release on regional energy prices from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Thanks partly to electricity deregulation and the failure to build any significant new electricity transmission lines or generators since deregulation happened 10 years ago, Baltimore-Washington pays 13.6 percent more for juice than the nation as a whole. In the market for gasoline, however, where barriers to entry are low and competition is healthy, we pay less than the national average. No link yet, but here is the gist: never been wider hit a 10-year high may have something to do with the PSC's auction schedule. BGE had to buy this year's juice at last year's high prices. Not sure about Pepco and others. In other states, utilities have been better able to capitalize on the plunge in energy prices that started happening a year ago. But unless you switched to Washington Gas Energy Services' cheaper deal for BGE customers, you're paying all-time high kilowatt prices this summer.
In June 2009, Washington-Baltimore area consumers paid more than the U.S. city average for utility (piped) gas (10.9 percent) and electricity (13.6 percent) but less than the national average for gasoline (-4.4 percent) as measured by the Consumer Price Index, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that the 13.6 percent gap between local and national electricity prices was the largest difference in June in the last 10 years.The fact that the regional-national electricity gap has
Comments
And what can we expect the PSC to do? Based on past experience what ever is most beneficial to anyone but the consumers they are supposed to represent and protect
Posted by: Paul | August 10, 2009 11:33 AM
The only way that I can see Maryland capitalizing on deregulation is if we start to swing the needle away from the import side on the import vs. export of electricity scale. We're in a seller's market right now.
Posted by: Bob UU | August 10, 2009 2:35 PM
I agree with Bob - we need to get away from importing - the way to do this is build more power plants - exactly what Constellation is trying to do. More production within MD will mean no longer needing to import expensive energy.
Posted by: MS | August 11, 2009 7:53 AM
why not get a tidal water energy project going to simulate competion and green
energy, a win - win ...we got the shore
and the bay . NY has turbines in the
hutson river now being evaluated.
let get something started here.
Posted by: alfonso | August 13, 2009 9:17 PM
It's obvious that our energy supply is plentiful, it's moving it to where it's needed that's expensive. Enron managed to rape Calif.' anergy mkt. simply by creating false shortages, by transfering energy around to avoid price caps. If PSC is capable of monitering energy consumption, why can't they moniter energy availability to move it to where it's needed when it's needed? Deregulation seems like nothing but a dog fight with consumers in the middle.
Posted by: ingrid krause | August 14, 2009 12:49 PM
how about you deregulate your with your own wind or solar power in your own backyard and help spread electricity deregulation across the country.
solarpower4home.weebly.com
Posted by: Erik | August 30, 2009 12:28 AM