For Release:
February 28, 2001 FTC Requests Comments on
Retail Electricity Competition Plans
The Federal Trade Commission today announced that it is seeking information regarding
the results to date of different regulatory approaches to the introduction of competition
into the retail sale of electricity. The Commission has approved a Federal Register
notice, to be published shortly, that contains a series of questions designed to help
gather this information. The Commission will produce a report that discusses the
advantages and disadvantages associated with different approaches to particular issues and
that identifies, if warranted, areas in which additional federal legislative or regulatory
action may be desirable.
As detailed in the notice, many states have enacted, and in some cases begun to
implement, legislation designed to introduce competition into the retail sale of
electricity to encourage lower prices, better service and greater innovation. To date, 24
states and the District of Columbia have set dates when customers will be allowed to
choose their electric power supplier. Recently, however, substantial price increases and
reliability problems in some areas undergoing this transition have raised questions about
the best way this restructuring can be designed to benefit retail customers. In light of
recent price increases and reliability problems in California and western states
generally, some states have delayed, or are considering delaying, implementation of retail
competition plans.
The Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee of the United States House of
Representatives, W.J. "Billy" Tauzin, and the Chairman of the Subcommittee on
Energy and Air Quality, Joe Barton, have requested that the Commission examine various
state retail competition programs and describe those features that appear to have resulted
in consumer benefits and those that have not yielded consumer benefits. In addition, the
Commission has been asked to examine possible jurisdictional limitations on the states'
authority to design successful retail competition plans and whether there is a need for
federal legislative or regulatory action. To comply with this request, the Commission will
update its July 2000 staff report "Competition and Consumer Protection Perspectives
on Electric Power Regulatory Reform."
For the updated report, the Commission proposes to examine state plans that allow
customers to choose their generation supplier, and state plans with unique approaches to
retail electricity competition. The Commission will work with the states to understand the
various features of the plans and to gather facts relevant to understanding the market
reaction to a particular state's plan.
The Federal Register notice contains additional questions about which the Commission
seeks public comment. The Commission seeks comments on features of state retail
competition plans that have benefitted consumers and those that have not. The Commission
is particularly interested in receiving information about the market response to various
provisions of state retail competition plans. It is not necessary to respond to each
question for every state.
Written comments in response to the questions in the Federal Register notice are due by
April 3, 2001 and will become part of the public record. They may be submitted to: Donald
S. Clark, Office of the Secretary, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20580. Submissions should be captioned: "V010003 -- Comments
Regarding Retail Energy Competition." Electronic submissions may be sent by e-mail
to: "retailelectricity@ftc.gov"
and may also be sent on floppy disk, as described in the notice.
The Commission vote to publish the Federal Register notice was 5-0. |