Pennsylvania electricity market ranks high in new report

Many of the electricity companies in the U.S. still operate under a monopoly, but some states have made substantial progress in introducing a competitive market for electricity providers. According to the Central Penn Business Journal, a new report from the Distributed Energy Financial Group found that Pennsylvania is one of the most open electricity markets in the country.

Electricity deregulation was introduced in the U.S. more than two decades ago in an attempt to bring the electricity prices more in line with the actual cost and to encourage competition.

According to the fifth Annual Baseline Assessment of Choice in Canada and the United States, Pennsylvania boasts the third best market for electricity suppliers for residential customers and the fourth best market for business electricity.

Pennsylvania only lifted the price caps that had been hindering the development of its market this year, but since then the number of electricity providers in the state has jumped to 33, and the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission reports that it intends to further open the market in coming months.

According to the the PUC’s PAPowerSwitch.com, more than one-quarter of the states electricity customers have already chosen to switch electricity providers.