Issues

Louisiana law requires a regulatory monopoly system.  That means that the average consumer must buy from an assigned company.  Many customers must buy from Entergy and CLECO, but there are other electricity providers.

The customer can't negotiate for a lower rate because the providers all charge the rate set for  them by the Public Service Commission.

As a result, consumers like you have to buy from the company you're told to buy from, and you have to pay the price you're told to pay.

Seems like monopolies are great, if you're the monopolist.  They're not so great if you're the consumer.

What can we do about this?  Keep reading the issues summaries to find out.

We do not. 

is an industry heavy state.  We are one of only five states where business and industry spend more than the residents on electricity.  We have large oil refineries and chemical plants that use a LOT of energy.

There are two dirty little secrets that most people don't know:

1. Industry is subject to the monopoly, too.  Just like us, they buy from who they're told the buy from, and they pay the price they're told to pay.
2. Industry could generate their own electricity for less then the price they're forced to pay.

That means that businesses are overpaying for electricity, and they past the higher costs on to you and me in the form of higher prices.

Okay, this might seem to be out of place, but bear with me.

There are smaller cell phone companies that don't have networks of their own.  The have access to the larger carriers' networks by law.  That means they can charge you a little less by charging you, then buying network access from one of the large carriers.

What does this have to do with the price of electricity?

Read the next issue and I'll tie this issue and the last issue together.

The Louisiana Public Service Commission has the power to break the regulatory monopoly.  That means you could buy electricity from any company you chose to buy from.

But who's going to produce it, and how are they going to transmit it to you?

We've already talked about how Louisiana's major refineries and plants can produce their own electricity for less cost then buying it from one of the monopoly companies like Entergy.  They would certainly generate their own electricity if it meant saving money.

If the Public Service Commission decided to end the monopoly in exchange for these industries producing a little extra, they would most likely do so.  

What would they do with this excess electricity that they're generating?

THEY COULD SELL IT TO YOU!

But how can they get it to you?  Take a look at the next issue.

At this point the monopoly companies are pretty angry.  They've lost a lot of business because their monopoly as been busted.  Can they recoup any of this loss?

Well, they still own and control the electricity grid used to transmit the energy to (and from) businesses and residences.  If you've read the issue about the cell phone networks, you've probably already guess the answer.

If industry could pay to use the energy grid to transmit the electricity they're transmitting to you, then the former monopolies could make extra money that way.

This would require a law change, and therefore the legislature would have to cooperate with the Public Service Commission to make this happen.

The bottom line is that COMPETITION LOWERS PRICES!  You'd have a choice of who to buy electricity from, just like you have a choice of what cell phone company you use, or where you buy gasoline.

This plan could seriously reduce your monthly energy bill.