Tracing industry

deregulation to its start in 1978 with restructuring of airlines, he concluded

that, "...if we have learned any lessons from the deregulation of

the airlines industry, the telecommunications industry, the natural gas

industry and from the electric utility industry of the states that have

already undertaken this path, the lesson is that restructuring requires

a comprehensive plan."

Citing problems

such as loss of quality and safety, explosive growth of marketers (many

of which were under qualified), he went on to say that consumers had more

choices, but at great cost in the long run.

California's

"nightmare" experience with deregulation of the electric utility

industry - still ongoing, says Ngubeni has affected the state's economy,

residents and private stockholders.

Focusing again

on his home state, the young man noted that until now, consumers hadn't

put much thought into how their electricity was delivered.

However, he

said, our utility companies have put much effort and investment into making

sure that power was as reasonable as possible, reliable and convenient.

Concluding

that Georgia isn,t ready for this "confusion" [deregulation],

he went on to say that, "After all, we are Southerners, and we 'don,t

fix what ain,t broke."

Newnan High

School junior Jameson Linville's English teacher, Barbara Landreth, was

proud of her student, who succinctly outlined his own opinion from researching

the history of deregulation.

While he opined

that in the past, "Deregulation affected prices, service quality

and innovation in these industries, mostly positively," he also noted

that two broad problems could arise here in Georgia: cherry picking and

stranded costs. Cherry picking, he explained, is when a utility company

serves (hand-picking) only the prime accounts like large industrial companies,

which gives premium pricing to urban consumers, but leaves rural customers

to foot the bill when they receive significant rate increases.

Stranded costs

are the investments regularly made by utility companies as they predict

and plan for future power needs needs that may not evolve under competition.

Much debate

has focused on how those investments would be repaid, and by whom.

"Measures

will need to be taken to ensure even, fair competition for all customers,"

said Linville, making note of California's debacle where he says, "The

crisis is blamed on high demand, high wholesale costs, and tight supply."

Citing needed

research to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of deregulation, he

believes that the move is inevitable and that "the appropriate route

for maximum consumer and economic satisfaction must be taken."

"Impressive

students like these give me a great deal of hope for America's future,"

stated EMC President & CEO Michael C. Whiteside, after reading this

year's essays.

"Our hope

is that they increase their leadership qualities and absorb as much information

as possible while visiting our nation's capital.

The Washington

Youth Tour has been a valuable experience for hundreds of students over

the years."

President Lyndon

Johnson began the Youth Tour in an effort to give students a close-up

look at government and to spawn leadership.

Over 1,000

young people representing cooperatives from 26 states will converge on

Washington, DC, giving them an opportunity to meet with state and national

leaders, to exchange ideas and even to have some fun!

Prior to leaving

for the trip, the students will learn about Georgia's 42 EMCs and the

entire industry during a tour of the Georgia Electric Membership Corporation

headquarters and Oglethorpe Power Corporation in Tucker.

Coweta-Fayette

EMC provides electric power to members in Coweta, Fayette, Heard, Meriwether,

and parts of South Fulton, Clayton and Spalding Counties. The EMC's subsidiary,

Relyco, offers and manages a wide variety of services that are available

to members and non-members, including home security and monitoring, pagers,

installation of BOSE sound equipment and a Surge and Lightning Damage

Protection Program. For more information about the EMC or any of the Relyco

products and services, telephone 770.502.0226.

Back

to Business Home Page