[Imagenuity]

In a word, deregulation. If you live in one of the 35 states that separated generation, transmission and retail distribution, your bill is about $40 a month more.

The idea was to create competition for power generation to lower prices. What actually happened was surge pricing and higher prices.

"Average retail electricity costs in the 35 states that have partly or entirely broken apart the generation, transmission and retail distribution of energy into separate businesses have risen faster than rates in the 15 states that have not deregulated..."

source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/04/business/energy-environme...

One of the many reasons I decided to move out of California was because of these thinly veiled cash grabs in the guise of benefit to the consumer.