Dive Brief:
- Michigan and Indiana are considering increasing retail competition. In Indiana, an energy plan being draft by the governor is expected to address retail competition and in Michigan a bill is pending that would expand the state's retail market.
- Michigan opened for retail competition in 2001 but pulled back so only 10% of a utility's load can get its supply from third-party companies. More than 20% of the state's investor-owned utility customers want to shop for power, according to a report by the Michigan Public Service Commission.
- The interest in retail competition is being driven partly by rising utility prices.
Dive Insight:
In general, in the mid- to late-1990s, places where electricity was expensive, like the Northeast, opened their markets to retail competition. Now, about 17.2 million households get their power from retail suppliers and in states that allow retail competition up to 95% of commercial and industrial customers buy power from third-party suppliers, according to a recent report by Distributed Energy Financial Group.
In Illinois, for example, about 3 million households get their power from a company besides their incumbent utility and in Ohio 2.1 million residential customers buy power from retail suppliers, the report said. Michigan and Indiana are looking at retail competition as a way to lower power prices.
Utilities companies like CMS Energy oppose expanding retail choice in Michigan.