OH Power Cos. Try to Stop Gas-Fired Plants with “Re-Regulation”
As we have pointed out in past articles, the electricity industry is a complicated industry, with some some power producers operating as "regulated" and some operating as "unregulated." Regulated power producers have their rates, and rate of profit, set by government regulators--which limits profits but also guarantees profits. Unregulated power producers, on the other hand, do not have the safety net of the government forcing ratepayers to pony up--they operate in the free market, taking all of the risks--and reaping the rewards if those risks prove worthwhile. Many (most?) of the new natural gas-fired electric plants getting built, like those we have focused on in Ohio over the past several days (see List of 10 Utica-Powered Electric Plant Projects Coming to Ohio), are of the unregulated kind. Three power companies in Ohio that are regulated want to keep their monopoly on power and shut out these impertinent upstarts--by calling for re-regulation of the power industry. So-called re-regulation would kill proposed new natgas power plants and keep Ohioans locked into higher prices using existing (and in some cases crumbling) plants to generate electricity. Let's name names for the sleazy companies trying to pull a fast one...
To view this content, log into your member account. (Not a member? Join Today!)