Deregulation Has Failed

The Wall Street Journal (subscription):

Deregulating electricity has long been an ardent goal of many in the U.S. and other industrialized nations. Instead of stodgy utilities collecting nearly guaranteed profits and having little motive to improve their efficiency, backers have hoped deregulation would bring innovation and lower prices to an essential sector of the economy. The reality is messier, as consumers fail to take advantage of their new options -- or fail to gain any options -- while clever companies that know how to work the system prosper.