Unfair Utility Competition

PHCC supports legislation that would prevent monopoly utilities from engaging in anti-competitive services. Fighting unfair utility competition will protect plumbing and HVACR contractors from utility company competitors that offer services at reduced rates through cross-subsidization and cost-sharing. Utilities are able to use their customer base and name recognition to steer business away from independent plumbing and heating contractors and toward their own affiliates, such as appliance service and installation companies. Utility monopolies and their unregulated affiliates gain an artificial competitive advantage over private sector companies, one which smaller businesses cannot hope to overcome. PHCC has been advancing an amendment to the ongoing national energy legislation which would provide the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with specific authority and direction to address anticompetitive dealings between a public utility and its unregulated affiliates. While this amendment in its current form was withdrawn to accommodate an agreement between senior Senate Energy Committee members, Senate hearings and investigations by the General Accounting Office (GAO) will take place in the Fall of 2005.