Anticipated deregulation of US retail electric industry sparks a new generation of legal issues

The US is witnessing a fundamental shift in how electric power is provided to end-use consumers. Vertically integrated electric utilities that own generation, transmission, and distribution facilities and sell electricity at wholesale and retail at regulated rates, are being pushed aside in favor of a competitive market structure which allows the unregulated generation and sale of electricity and requires traditional utilities to provide non-discriminatory, open access to their transmission facilities. The prospects of commodity trading in electricity and direct retail sales of electric power have enticed many new players to enter the market and test their marketing skills.