An updated analysis of all states' efforts to deregulate energy utilities shows that New York State remains ahead of most of the country in the quest for energy deregulation.
A July update of an analysis originally released in February gave New York a score of 64, well above the national average of 21. The study, called the Retail Energy Deregulation Index 2000 (RED Index), was prepared by the Center for the Advancement of Energy Markets (CAEM).
In the February report, New York scored 58, just behind Pennsylvania, which scored 59. In the updated report, New York remains behind Pennsylvania, which scored 65.
In creating its rankings of the 50 states in the District of Columbia, the RED Index 2000 considers 18 factors in evaluating how successful states are in making the transition from a monopoly model of energy markets to a market-driven customer-choice model.
The index assigns numerical scores to each attribute to develop a composite score for each state. A composite score of zero represents a monopoly model; a score of 100 represents complete and effective implementation of policies that the Center for the advancement of energy markets believes are the foundation of a competitive model.
Key factors used to determine rankings include: the state's deregulation plan; divestiture of generation; competitive standards; uniform business rules; the wholesale market model; and stranded cost implementation.