Opinions of Duke Energy acquisition of Progress Energy

[SunnyKayak]

The proposed $26 billion merger of Charlotte-based Duke Energy and Raleigh-based Progress Energy could hinge on how the companies structure who will pay the costs of the deal. State regulators don't want the costs passed the customers, while the companies know that shareholders could be angered if they alone bear the price of the merger. Whose wallets will the Duke-Progress merger hit? - Economy - NewsObserver.com

[Bull City Rising]

Originally Posted by Rdanville

They were still tied to one supplier. Deregulation does not mean more competition. As my first post said we need competition. We have zero now. Here in Wake Forest it is even worse. There is one provider who buys the electricity from Progress tacks on a nice increase and resells it to residents.
I would like to be able to choose from 4-5+ suppliers for my electricity business. Other countries do it.

From the article:

[i]n Texas, where utilities have been able to raise their rates in response to fuel price increases and this year were freed of all price restraints. About 60% of Texas consumers have chosen an alternative power supplier.

D'Lana Motta, 52, of DeSoto, Texas, switched from utility TXU (TXU) to Reliant Energy (RRI) earlier this year to light her home and clothing boutique. She's saving about 10% on her electric bill. "In running a business, you want to save money," she says. "And maybe it's a little more personal service."

Yet critics say Texas points up competition's failure: Average electricity prices still have surged 58% since 2002. "Deregulation has been disappointing," says Clarence Johnson of the Texas Public Utility Counsel.

The culprit, Rathvon says, is fossil-fuel costs, especially natural gas, which has tripled in price since the late 1990s. Even coal prices have risen 70%. That has driven up electric rates in regulated states as well.

Rose says fuel costs don't explain the bigger price increases in deregulated states. Echoing a sentiment voiced by consumer advocates, Rose instead points to wholesale electricity markets he says are far from competitive. Wholesale power suppliers have built few plants as they've been unable to obtain financing. And most big utilities and their generation affiliates have not built transmission lines to import out-of-state power or local plants because keeping supplies tight means higher prices, Rose says.