Editing Public utility (section)

====Monopoly vs. competition====
Public utilities were historically regarded as [[natural monopoly|natural monopolies]] because the infrastructure required to produce and deliver a product such as electricity or water is very expensive to build and maintain. Once assets such as power plants or transmission lines are in place, the cost of adding another customer is small, and duplication of facilities would be wasteful.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tomain |first1=Joseph |last2=Cudahy |first2=Richard |title=Energy Law in a Nutshell |date=2004 |publisher=West Publishing Company |location=St. Paul, Minnesota |isbn=0-314-15058-7 |pages=120–121}}</ref> As a result, utilities were either government monopolies, or if investor-owned, [[regulation|regulated]] by a [[public utilities commission]].<ref name="merriam-webster1">{{cite web|title=Public utility - Definition|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/public%20utility|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111105062903/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/public%20utility|archive-date=2011-11-05|access-date=2011-10-11|publisher=Merriam-Webster Dictionary}}</ref><ref name="investorwords1">{{cite web|title=public utility definition|url=http://www.investorwords.com/3949/public_utility.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928072215/http://www.investorwords.com/3949/public_utility.html|archive-date=2011-09-28|access-date=2011-10-11|publisher=Investorwords.com}}</ref>

In the electric utility industry, the monopoly approach began to change in the 1990s. In 1996, the [[Federal Energy Regulatory Commission]] (FERC) issued its [https://www.ferc.gov/industries-data/electric/industry-activities/open-access-transmission-tariff-oatt-reform/history-oatt-reform/order-no-888 Order No. 888], which mandated that electric utilities open access to their transmission systems to enhance competition and "functionally unbundle" their transmission service from their other operations. The order also promoted the role of an independent system operator to manage power flow on the electric grid.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Melvin |first1=Jasmin |title=Former FERC, DOE officials mull Texas, climate, transmission policy quandaries (28 Feb 2021) |url=https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/electric-power/022621-former-ferc-doe-officials-mull-texas-climate-transmission-policy-quandaries |website=S&P Global Platts |date=26 February 2021 |access-date=15 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Order No. 888 |url=https://www.ferc.gov/industries-data/electric/industry-activities/open-access-transmission-tariff-oatt-reform/history-oatt-reform/order-no-888 |website=Federal Energy Regulatory Commission |access-date=14 May 2021}}</ref> Later, FERC Order No. 889 established an electronic information system called OASIS (open access same-time information system) which would give new users of transmission lines access to the same information available to the owner of the network.<ref>{{cite book |title=Tomain and Cudahy op cit |pages=278–279}}</ref> The result of these and other regulatory rulings was the eventual restructuring of the traditional monopoly-regulated regime to one in which all bulk power sellers could compete. A further step in industry restructuring, "customer choice", followed in some 19 states, giving retail electric customers the option to be served by non-utility retail power marketers.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Clark |first1=Doug |title=Electricity customer choice program participation examined (Nov, 5, 2019) |url=https://dailyenergyinsider.com/news/22704-electricity-customer-choice-program-participation-examined/ |website=Daily Energy Insider |date=5 November 2019 |access-date=14 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Can electric utility customers choose their electricity supplier? |url=https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=627&t=3 |website=U.S. Energy Information Administration |access-date=14 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Participation in electricity customer choice programs has remained unchanged since 2013 |url=https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=41853 |website=U.S. Energy Information Administration |access-date=14 May 2021}}</ref>