OGE Energy Corp. Business Reports

Demand for electricity is driven by industrial and commercial activity and by population growth. The profitability of individual companies depends on the efficiency of their operations. Large companies have economies of scale in purchasing power; small companies can compete effectively by specializing in geographic regions. The industry is capital-intensive: average annual revenue per worker is about $2 million. The traditional electricity industry consisted of investor-owned utilities, municipal utilities, cooperatives, and government entities that owned the generation, transmission, and retail distribution facilities within a limited area and served all customers within that area as tightly regulated "natural monopolies." Though "natural monopolies" still exist, the electric energy industry in the US underwent a restructuring driven by changes in federal and state laws in the 1990s. In restructured, or deregulated, markets, generation, transmission, and distribution operations are carried out by separate companies, and the owners of local distribution lines make their lines available to competitors. The intended purpose of moving toward a less regulated electricity market was to decrease the cost of electricity by fostering competition among producers. One practical effect was the divestment of generation facilities by many investor-owned utilities. Despite the popularity of restructuring activities initially, as of mid-2010 only 15 states had deregulated their electricity industries. Several other states, including California, launched restructuring initiatives before suspending them, in part because of concerns that restructuring caused electricity rates to rise. Many local electricity distributors are still owned by utility holding companies that also own power generation facilities, wholesale transmission lines, and wholesale power trading companies.