Nixing Utility Monopolies in Pennsylvania
Corporate monopolies can be especially problematic in both the life of your small business and your personal life, too. If a company can control you by implementing, changing, and inventing new policies that you have no choice to submit to, it puts you in a position of loser. Competition, by contrast, encourages fair, balanced practices, something monopolies just don’t do.
Utility monopolies are a major problem in many states today but in’96, Pennsylvania took a huge step to curve this imbalance. The state’s electricity market became deregulated, bringing more competition and service oriented electric providers into all regions.
It was soon recognized elsewhere that electricity deregulation was a positive development for consumers, and so, the FCC, the Federal Communications Commission, issued orders to include the local telephone market in deregulation as well. Natural gas customers benefited from deregulation as of November 1,’99. Then, consumers began to have their free choice of utilities as well.
There are approximately ten companies to choose services from in each of the three utility categories. Low rates are a priority to all service providers since this is the most important benefit that they can offer to residents. Almost of equal importance is service, making sure that outages are taken care of in a timely fashion. Referrals and good ratings will increase their chances for increased business.
Although utility companies can offer incentives to attract customers when there is competition, and they can provide industry knowledge that’s been updated, watch out for “free gift” perks. These aren’t necessarily bad, but remember that nothing is really free. Before you sign up for any agreement with a provider, read the fine print and make sure you understand it.
If you do ever feel that you’ve been scammed, or if you feel that you’ve been “crammed,” which is the practice of adding additional charges to your account without your knowledge or consent, contact the Office of Consumer Advocate. The Pennsylvania General Assembly set up this organization in’76, to give consumers the ability to demand just and fair service from utility providers.
Today, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has as its main focus to balance between the needs of the consumers and utilities so that safe, reliable and affordable service is ensured. With the public at the forefront of consideration, they also want to further economic development by making sure the public is educated about sound choices when it comes to choosing a utility company to provide for their needs.
Monopolies can certainly be unjustified and predatory in their procedures and practices. When monopolies exist, consumers’ complaints can often fall on deaf ears because there is no reason to listen. After all, most consumers in this situation have no recourse. Pennsylvania had the forethought to make changes when they saw the state was heading in that direction, and made the decision instead to give consumers a choice. What that means is that today, customers and utility companies, as well as the Public Utility Commission, work together to provide the best service at the most affordable cost possible.
About the author: Jerry Dyess specializes in Commercial Energy news and Texas Electric prices.
Tags: Business, deregulation, electricity, energy, pennsylvania
