During the hot summer months, it’s pretty common for utility rates to increase as people are frantically trying to keep their homes cool. But in doing so, people are also facing the dilemma of trying to figure out how to keep their homes cool without doing significant damage to their utility bill as well.
This can be a double-edged sword for many, but if you live in a deregulated electricity market, you could actually save on your monthly utility bill by switching to alternative electricity suppliers. There are actually several deregulated states that are giving residents the power to choose their own utility providers.
Of course, certain states have more residents utilizing this alternative form of electricity more than others but in most cases, a lot of people aren’t fully utilizing it because they’re uneducated about it, which then leads to those famous misconceptions about the matter.
A lot of people look at deregulated electricity as a form of electricity that’s solely powered by the sun, and if the sun isn’t out, their homes won’t work… and that’s just not the case at all. There are many sources of deregulated energy besides solar energy, like wind and water. Unfortunately, not enough people know about this.
If people knew and understood the benefits of deregulated electricity, more residents of deregulated states would be taking advantage of it.
So what are the benefits of deregulated electricity?
Benefits of Deregulated Electricity
There are many wonderful benefits of deregulated electricity and if more people knew what they were, the world would be a much better place, literally. Everything from reducing emissions to climate change deregulated electricity is formed through renewable energy, which is extremely good for the environment.
Outside of environmentalists, the added benefits that really attract people to the transition from traditional to deregulated electricity is from a financial standpoint. By making the switch, you’re going to save on your electric bill and you also get to breathe a little easier by not having a fluctuating electric bill every month; With deregulated electricity, the rates are fixed.
Some would argue that there are no real financial benefits of deregulated electricity but the National Bureau of Economic Research would beg to differ. Not only does deregulation decrease nearly 40 million metric tons of carbon emissions but it also improved efficiency at 2.5 billion annually.
States With Deregulated Electricity
Maryland
Maryland is a state with hot summers and cold winters, but when it comes to that summer heat, it’s seen extreme heatwaves so high that areas like Clavert County actually built cooling centers to protect residents from the heat!
People utilize these cooling centers for various reasons, as you can imagine. But believe it or not, a lot of residents will use these centers just to lower their own electric bills at home. True enough, these centers are emergency cooling centers but if more people knew about deregulated electricity, they’d be able to enjoy cool air in their own home without the worries of an astronomical electric bill.
Connecticut
Since the year 2000, Connecticut residents have been able to enjoy the benefits of deregulated electricity. But it wasn’t until The Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control ordered the state to unbundle its energy supply and open the electricity market to competition.
Because residents had this freedom to choose and compare rates of alternative electricity suppliers, over 600,000 households have now taken full advantage of their freedom of choice and made the switch to alternative electricity suppliers. But it indeed did take residents getting educated on its many benefits.
Texas
They say “everything is bigger in Texas,” and there may be some truth to it. Not only are their sports and food sectors booming but the state’s energy sector is a force to be reckoned with as well.
Unlike most other states, Texas is a state that requires a large percentage of its residents to purchase their electricity from a retail provider. According to The Coalition for Affordable Power, there was a significant drop in electricity prices over the course of the past 10 years. Areas in the state that aren’t deregulated have seen utility prices increase.