New plan shows potential for electricity deregulation in Florida

Residents of Glendale, Florida, are seeing a change in their electricity rates that could help them save money or make their electricity bills jump, according to the Glendale News-Press.

The city's utility company, Glendale Water & Power, previously installed smart meters around the city with the intention to switching to time-of-use electricity rates.

This new system takes the time people are using energy into account to determine how much they will be charged, with residents paying more at busier times during the day and less at night and on weekends.

Some are concerned that the new system could cost more for people who have difficulty monitoring or changing their electricity usage.

However, these worries illustrate how Florida could benefit from electricity deregulation. While residents currently have no options other than their utility, electricity choice would allow some homeowners to take advantage of the lower electricity prices at night while others rely on fixed electricity rates.

TCPalm reports that Florida is an especially attractive place for deregulation because transmission costs in the state are so low. Deregulation leaves transmission costs largely the same, while introducing competition in electricity generation.