In the late 1990’s, Arizona was one of the first states to begin restructuring their electricity market to allow residents to shop for the best price and escape the old utility monopoly system. But all of those efforts came to a halt after California?s poorly structured market resulted in blackouts and a utility bankruptcy. Thankfully, other states were not deterred by California?s debacle and continued their transitions to market-based systems. States have come a long way in the last decade and today almost 75 million American households have the ability to shop for their electricity.

The restructuring meetings are tentatively planned for September with public comments being collected this summer. The first meeting will allow Commissioners to identify issues for stakeholders and areas of concern, which can then be addressed in formal proposals to be considered at a second meeting.

“[Electricity Restructuring] would probably be one of the most momentous decisions I could make as a policy maker,” ACC Chairman Bob Stump said of the deliberative process laid out and adopted by the commission.

A full-functioning competitive marketplace is probably still years away, nonetheless, it appears one competitor is eager to get in early. Last month, Direct Energy Services applied for a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity (CC&N) to act as a retail electric supplier. In the application, Direct Energy noted it is serving two of Arizona?s largest retail customers in the APS territory through a wholesale buy-through pilot program

With about 15 states now operating successful electricity marketplaces, it?s time Arizona residents are given a choice and the opportunity to lower their electric bills.