WASHINGTON (FNS) -- A recently introduced House bill that seeks to deregulate the nation's electricity industry faces a slim chance of passage this legislative session but retailers are hopeful the bill will jumpstart discussion and lead to a federal "retail wheeling" mandate as early as next year.
The bill, introduced last month by Rep. Dan Schaefer, R-Colo., would give retail electricity consumers the right to choose among competitive suppliers and save on energy costs.
The proposal calls for a Dec. 15, 2000, implementation date and represents the first attempt to deregulate retail customer electrical usage on a national scale. While most states are now considering similar bills, retailers said it is crucial to have a broad federal mandate set the scope.
"We need federal government support, absolutely," said Andrew Hayes, energy manager for Shaw's Supermarkets, East Bridgewater, Mass. "I think it will make the states have a more uniform process of deregulation.
"The states are going in 50 different directions at once," he added. "I think it's critical and vital that [the federal government] gets involved."
Any government deregulation of utilities is welcome to retailers, who currently are locked into using only their local utility suppliers, said Hayes, who is also co-chairman of the Washington-based Food Marketing Institute's Taskforce for Competitive Electric Service.
"Right now we have no choice whatsoever," he said. "Retail wheeling will bring [electrical costs] to a free market and allow us to shop around for our electricity."
The bill seeks to amend the Energy Policy Act of 1992, which prohibits federally mandated retail wheeling but does permit wholesale electricity buyers to purchase power from providers outside their local area.
"Our members are extremely interested in this measure because they see the potential for energy savings," said Thomas Wenning, senior vice president and general counsel for the National Grocers Association, Reston, Va. "The costs they invest in their air conditioning and refrigeration systems are substantial."
Industry officials estimate a store occupying 30,000 to 40,000 square feet pays between $10,000 and $14,000 per month in electricity costs, making electricity its largest operating expense after labor.
"Grocers are able to choose who they will buy their meat, produce, cash registers and scanners from. Why not their electricity?" FMI asked in a statement in support of the bill.
The measure is unlikely to see congressional action because time is running out on the 1995-96 session. Congress is set to adjourn the first week of August for party presidential conventions and won't return until after Labor Day. Congress will adjourn early for the year for November presidential election campaigns.
"We're pursuing this as a long-term objective," Wenning said. "This bill is not going to pass this year but is going to be an issue in the 1997-98 Congress."
