In a regulated state, your utility is a monopoly. They generate the power, deliver it, and set the price. You pay what they charge. In a deregulated state, you get to choose who supplies your electricity — while the utility still handles delivery.
How It Works
Deregulation splits the energy business into two parts: supply and delivery. Your local utility still owns the poles, wires, and infrastructure. They deliver the electricity to your meter no matter what. But the actual energy — the commodity — can come from a competitive supplier of your choice.
You're not switching utilities. You're switching who supplies the energy that flows through those same lines. Service reliability doesn't change. Outage response doesn't change. Only the supply rate changes.
Which States Are Deregulated?
Full or partial deregulation exists in about 20 states, including Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. The specifics vary — some states deregulated both residential and commercial, others only commercial.
Texas is unique: it has the most competitive market in the country with hundreds of available plans and full retail choice for nearly all customers.
Why It Saves Money
Competition drives prices down. When multiple suppliers are bidding for your business, rates get sharper. In regulated states, the utility has no incentive to offer you a better deal — you have nowhere else to go.
For commercial customers, the savings can be significant. A business using 1,000,000 kWh annually might save $5,000–$15,000 per year just by shopping their rate through a broker instead of defaulting to the utility's standard offer.
Common Misconceptions
- "Switching providers means less reliable power." No. Your utility still delivers the electricity. The lights stay on the same way regardless of your supplier.
- "It's complicated to switch." It's not. The enrollment process takes minutes. Your utility handles the transition behind the scenes.
- "Only big companies benefit." Small businesses and residential customers in deregulated states can shop rates too. The savings scale with usage, but everyone has options.
What OverCharged Does
We pull live rates from competing suppliers, show you the options side-by-side, and handle the enrollment. No sales calls, no pressure, no markup. You see the same rates the providers offer — we just make them easy to compare.