Competition draws Christians, conspiracy theorists.
SO, WHO WANTS TO COMPETE AGAINST THE LOCAL UTILITIES? In most of the country, potential competitors tend to fall into three categories: (1) traditional utilities from within or nearby the affected state that wants to expand into foreign service territories; (2) unregulated subsidiaries of traditional utilities; or (3) power marketers and/or aggregators. In California, however, it's more of a mixed bag.
At press time, 123 companies had registered as electric service providers, or ESPs, with the California Public Utilities Commission. Companies from 27 states and the District of Columbia had signed up since registration began July 1, with about 65 percent based in California. Businesses can provide electric service on Jan. 1, 1998. While the majority of registered providers are utilities and power marketers, a handful can't be easily pegged.