Energy Competition:

Today, in many states, you can choose a competitive supplier of energy to take advantage of pricing or packaging of energy supply that better matches your energy needs and consumption than that supplied by the local utility company. Energy is still transmitted and distributed through the same reliable, regulated system it has always been.

In the past there was typically only one monopolistic utility company and the utility and the public service commission for a state or region determined what price consumers paid for electricity and gas supply. More recently, the electric and gas generation and supply industry in a number of states underwent a significant restructuring. In order to break up the monopoly, lawmakers passed laws to allow competitive energy service companies to supply electricity and gas to residential and commercial customers. This means that your business has the option to choose your electric or gas supplier and receive reductions in your energy spend and/or lock in fixed pricing on the supply portion of your energy expenditures to protect against market price changes.

Generation:
Generation of electricity by utilities has been deregulated. This means that companies other than utilities can produce and sell electricity on the open market creating more competitive pressure on pricing and opening up more options for energy supply purchases for the typical energy customer than existed in the past.

Transmission and Distribution:
Transmission of electricity from power plants over power lines or through pipelines is still regulated. Publicly regulated utility companies and independent system operators handle the movement of the massive amounts of energy required to meet the consumption needs in a given region. Distribution of electricity to individual customers is also regulated. The local utility handles the "scaling down" of power to the manageable quantity required for individual customers.

The above concept is similar to the deregulation of long distance telephone services. The signal transmission wiring and distribution are managed by long haul wholesale network carriers and utilities, but the customer has the choice of whom to purchase the long distance switching, routing, and billing services from. Deregulation of long distance markets resulted in substantial savings for customers and many more choices.

By evaluating customer needs and submitting bids to alternative energy suppliers, our customers can experience direct savings on their annual energy costs and manage risks associated with market volatility. Our customers have more flexibility in taking responsibility for managing their energy needs and costs, while maintaining their focus on core business functions. By letting us help locate the best products and pricing in the competitive energy supply market our customers gain access to products, pricing, and services that the incumbent utilities can’t or won’t offer.

In short, deregulation means you can harness new choices and new opportunities to truly take advantage of the market. Let SPI Energy’s team of consultants tackle the challenge of finding the optimal energy provider to meet your energy demands.