The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is responsible for the regulation of these wholesale transactions, and has done so through market based transactions. As wholesale wheeling has become more important, large industrial buyers have begun to demand participation. Instead of only being able to buy power through their local utility, they want the choice to purchase it from other companies, thereby creating some type of open market competition. As this has occurred, the trend has trickled down to the individual consumer level, thereby creating legislation such as the Massachusetts Electric Utility Industry Restructuring Act that was signed into law on November 25, 1997, and upheld with the passage of Issue 4 in the general election on November 4, 1998. This piece of legislation has allowed consumers to choose their power supplier, and has led to decreased prices without regulation. The Massachusetts Electricity Law, passed by legislature and signed into law on November 25, 1997, was developed over three years with input and support from consumer advocates, small businesses and large employers, energy providers and experts, labor and environmental groups. The main objective of the new law was to allow Massachusetts consumers to choose their electricity supplier by breaking up the utility monopolies, and creating competition that will lead to lower rates in the future. Under the new law, local electric companies still own and maintain the wires that bring the electricity to homes and businesses, but consumers are now able to choose the company that provides the electricity they use. The distribution of electricity remains regulated to ensure reliable service to all consumers and to set distribution rates based on cost and performance, not at market prices. However, competitive power suppliers whose prices for electricity are not regulated now provide the generation of electricity. In addition to breaking up the utility monopolies, the n...
