[UTILITIES] 'Welcome to The Edison Electric Institute
Here you see some numbers (of different types of electric utilities).
John
__________
' Our U.S. shareholder-owned electric company members
generate and distribute more than three-quarters of the
nation's electricity. EEI's International Affiliates provide
electricity worldwide and our growing list of Associates
provide services to the industry.
eei.org
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Electric Utility
Restructuring/Competition Issues
The Number of Electricity Suppliers in Today's
Power Market
There is a broad diversity of electricity suppliers in the U.S. There
are regulated electric utilities such as shareholder-owned
companies, and there are non-regulated utilities such as rural
electric cooperatives and government-owned utilities.
Government-owned utilities include municipal systems, public
power districts, state projects, and federal agencies.
In the past few years, laws designed to promote competition in
wholesale electricity markets have led to the creation of many
non-regulated suppliers. These include PURPA*-qualifying
facilities, exempt wholesale generators (EWGs), and power
marketers. The share of nationwide generating capacity from
non-utility generators (NUGs) has more than doubled from 3.6
percent in 1987 to 8.4 percent in 1996; in fact, since 1990, NUGs
have contributed over half of all new investment in generating
facilities. Many of these new power producers are not bound by
the same regulations imposed on shareholder-owned utilities. The
growth of competition that benefits all consumers, however,
depends on the creation of a system where all electricity suppliers
play by the same set of rules.
The total number of each supplier (as of March 1998) is shown
below.
Shareholder-owned Utilities
223
Cooperatives
922
Municipal Systems
1,818
Public Power Districts
75
State Projects
68
Federal Agencies
37
Non-utility Generators (excluding EWGs)
4,132
Domestic Exempt Wholesale Generators (EWGs)
144
Power Marketers
400
*Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act
eei.org
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The Living Grid: Evolving to Meet the Power
Needs of America
As part of an integrated system, companies have traditionally
honored a code of mutual assistance. This assistance ranges
from sharing power reserves when lines go down, to sharing
work crews, equipment, and other resources to speed up
power restoration.
The American electric system is one of the most reliable ones in
the world. Its reliability is the result of the interconnected structure
of its transmission system known as the grid and the coordinated
and cooperative way in which electric companies have agreed to
operate within that structure.
Greater competition in the electricity market has meant
expanded use of the grid. The industry is working diligently to
adapt the nation's transmission system and its operations to meet
the demands of burgeoning competition while maintaining
reliability.
For reliability to be maintained and for consumers and electricity
providers to reap the benefits of increased competition, a high level
of coordinated operation must continue to exist.
Investments must be made to expand and upgrade the grid and
encourage the development and use of new technologies to
enhance its efficiency.
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