Reg and Dereg

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Today, FERC regulates interstate transmission and wholesale power transactions, which involve shareholder-owned electric companies buying or selling electricity from one another or from other power suppliers for resale to the ultimate customer. FERC has the authority to regulate the prices, terms, and conditions of these wholesale power sales and transmission services.

While FERC has primary jurisdiction over shareholder-owned electric companies, the agency has only very limited jurisdiction over federaland state-owned utilities and electric cooperatives.

In 1996, FERC issued Order 888, opening the electric transmission lines owned by shareholder-owned companies to all suppliers. Virtually thousands of suppliers are now competing for use of these lines in the wholesale electricity market. EPAct 2005 allows FERC to extend a similar version of these requirements to the largest electric cooperatives and government-owned utilities.

After FERC opened access to transmission lines in the wholesale market, electric companies began joining together to form Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs), which provide independently operated transmission service under consistent terms and conditions. FERC has encouraged the formation of RTOs.