Refers to the regulated industry having a substantial amount of influence on the decisions that regulators make. This can be through campaign contributions, the real or perceived assurance of industry employment by regulators following their time in government office (‘revolving door’), or simply taking advantage of regulators with limited experience and expertise. “Historically, utilities are monopolies regulated by government agencies. This puts them in a unique business model where the profit motive encourages favorable political treatment, not satisfying customers. The government sets the terms and prices the utilities can charge; so, who is the real “customer” of these utilities? State government officials.”

The idea that customers should have some level of control to decide where their power comes from, how they will use it, and how they will be charged for it.

Electric utilities are regulated by state, federal, and local agencies. These agencies govern the prices they charge, the terms of their service to consumers, their budgets and construction plans, and their programs for energy efficiency and other services. In absence of any competition among the service providers to set lower rates, the service provider might restrict output and set prices at levels higher than are economically justified. Regulation serves the function of ensuring that price structures are followed, that service is adequate, that companies are responsive to consumer needs, and that things like new service orders and billing questions are handled responsively.

The idea that those utilities who currently enjoy a granted monopoly will work to protect that monopoly by various means including: regulatory capture, promotion of laws and regulations that enact barriers to entry for future competitors, or outright illegal activity. Anti-free market activities promoted by utilities that would safeguard the monopolistic control of electricity generation by the same impacted utilities.