ONDCP - Competitors

ONDCP Competition

Now Viewing ONDCP's competition in: Electric Energy Distribution (primary)

Recent Developments

Electricity Prices Could Rise in South - Electricity distributors in the southern US could be forced to look for new sources of power on the wholesale market if the region doesn't escape drought conditions soon. Lower water tables, caused by the drought, pressure nuclear facilities, which require a large volume of water for cooling. Water levels could cause up to 23 percent of US nuclear facilities to shut down, straining the southern electricity grid.

Electricity from Wind Growing in US - Wind energy has traditionally been a fringe source of electricity for distributors, but the industry is growing quickly. Some estimates indicate an increase in capacity by 45 percent in 2007 because of 3,200 new wind turbines. Despite the increase, which the industry expects for 2008 as well, the amount of US electricity generated by wind turbines is still relatively small: about 1 percent at year-end 2007. Still, electric energy distributors will increasingly fold wind energy into their portfolios as more becomes available in coming years.

Billing Questioned in North Carolina - The North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) is investigating billing arrangements by Duke Energy and Progress Energy that some claim waste electricity. The billing procedure, which allows customers to pay a flat rate per month instead of a changing amount, has caused consumers' electricity usage to increase compared to those on a traditional billing cycle. The NCUC can force the companies to change the billing process, which will have implications for billing procedures for other utilities in North Carolina and other US states.

Competitive Landscape

The electric energy industry in the US is currently in a state- and federally-sponsored transition, or Electric Restructuring. The traditional electricity industry consists of large investor-owned utilities (IOUs); municipal utilities; rural cooperatives; and government entities, like the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), that own the generation, transmission, and retail distribution facilities within a limited area, and serve all customers within that area as tightly regulated "natural monopolies." Under restructuring, the generation, transmission, and distribution operations are carried out by separate companies, and the owners of local distribution lines make their lines available to competitors. About half the states have adopted restructuring legislation, but only a third is actively engaged in restructuring.

Full Industry Overview For Electric Energy Distribution

Electric Energy Distribution Industry Forecast

from Hoover's/D&B subsidiary First Research

The output of US electric utilities, which includes distribution, is forecast to grow at an annual compounded rate of 4.7 percent between 2007 and 2012.

Electric Utility Growth Stabilizes

First Research forecasts are based on INFORUM forecasts that are licensed from the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc. (IERF) in College Park, MD. INFORUM's "interindustry-macro" approach to modeling the economy captures the links between industries and the aggregate economy.