Navigating the Energy Map with Utility Management

Apartment properties stand as one of the nation’s largest consumers of energy. As owners and operators feel the growing impact on their operations, the ever-evolving world of utility management shows a lot of promise in controlling costs and increasing both asset value and savings. Energy deregulation In 1978, new Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) policies began to open the nation’s electricity transmission system to retail suppliers, effectively allowing qualified generators and wholesalers onto the country’s grid to create wholesale market competition. In the mid-1990s, under pressure to control costs at a local (retail) level, state legislators began efforts to decouple electric utility monopolies, with expectations that open market competition would be a more effective way to control costs. Electric utilities were separated into two businesses. Distribution would remain a monopoly while supply would be opened to competition. Deregulation of electricity was born. Between 1996 and 2004, 17 states passed legislation to deregulate their electric industry. With deregulation, each state created its own unique market structure. Some market designs were not successful and have since halted deregulation; most notably the California market. Today, 13 states plus the District of Columbia have deregulated markets for electricity. These jurisdictions comprise one-third of the nation’s total electric consumption. Over 3 million commercial and industrial customers, and 16 million residential households procure their electricity through non-utility suppliers. The current state In 2016, over 72 percent of all eligible electric load within deregulated states was supplied by retail suppliers. This represents 85 percent of the commercial and industrial load and 49 percent of residential load. Deregulated states enjoy not only the benefits of competitive energy prices, but also receive more pricing options and more innovative energy solutions...