A Primer on the Origins of the Competitive Power Market in the USA

A licensed electricity and natural gas supplier, RPA Energy provides a range of energy solutions combined with exceptional customer service. RPA Energy offers electricity, natural gas, and green energy products at competitive prices within the deregulated energy market.

The origin of the competitive natural gas and electricity markets can be traced back to the start of the 20th century when the Federal Power Commission (FPC) was established. This entity was initially formed in 1920 to provide monitoring for the federal government’s hydroelectric projects. However, after new laws were passed, the commission later expanded to provide oversight of electricity and natural gas markets.

Due to inadequacies in energy delivery in the 1960s and 1970s and the development of the energy crisis caused by the OPEC oil embargo, the US Congress organized the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in 1977 as a reformed version of the FPC. The new commission started to implement modifications in the natural gas market, changes that promoted the establishment of retail energy companies, and competition within the energy market. Rules for competition within the natural gas market were created by the FERC and put in place by 1978, whereas the competitive electricity market followed in the 1990s. At present, competitive energy retailers operate within most of the US. 

The Growth of the Green Energy Industry

Established in 2011, RPA Energy is an energy provider that services both residential and commercial customers in seven states. RPA Energy offers green energy among its customer energy solutions and plans to increase its renewable source offerings.

Green energy has been expanding considerably worldwide. This sector generated 25 percent of the global electricity supply in 2018, mostly through hydropower, solar, wind, nuclear power, and biomass. This capacity has risen to 28 percent in the first quarter of 2020, with more than 2,500 gigawatts (GW).

This growth has been fueled by increased investment, which saw $2.7 billion going into green energy capacity globally from 2010 to 2019. The year 2019 saw record amounts for various countries' governments auctioning green power capacity at 78.5 GW and corporate power purchase agreements for 19.5 GW. Developing countries are also increasing their investments into green energy, making up 54 percent of the global total in 2019, outpacing developed economies for the fifth consecutive year.

Another factor driving the green energy industry's growth is improving market conditions, including the increasing affordability of green energy options and the decreased costs of generating power. Other factors include government policy decisions like subsidies, tax credits, reduced tariffs, and the regulations in many countries supporting green energy. Many commercial businesses are also adopting green energy to improve their environmental footprint through self-generation and power purchase agreements.

Green Power vs. Conventional vs. Renewable Energy

RPA Energy is an energy solutions provider with a strong emphasis on top-tier customer service. One-hundred percent of the energy distributed by RPA Energy is green energy, which contrasts starkly with conventional energy production, and even from renewable energy.

Conventional power generation is typically understood to be energy from the combustion of fossil fuels and nuclear power. In other words, it uses fuel sources that are by their very nature exhaustible in the short term.

Renewable energy, on the other hand, relies on fuel sources that can be restored in the short term and don’t deplete in the same way conventional sources do. These include solar power, aeolic energy, and geothermal energy.

Green energy is a subcategory of renewable energy which adds the discriminatory factor of using technologies focused on environmental benefit. Typically, this means energy produced with zero emissions and a net negative carbon footprint. In some ways, renewable energy can be thought of as trying to do less harm to the environment, while green energy is about actively producing a benefit.

Two Viable Sources of Green Energy

New York City-based RPA Energy delivers a range of energy solutions to its clients while providing exceptional customer service. RPA Energy offers different pricing options on electricity, natural gas, and green energy products for residential and commercial properties.

Green energy is derived from renewable energy sources including solar power and wind and is increasingly being used over energy gained from the burning of fossil fuels. The following two sources of renewable resources are currently being investigated for use as viable energy sources:

1. Biomass - A source of organic matter derived from plants and organisms that were once alive, biomass produces energy when it is burned. As it decomposes, it also produces energy in the form of methane gas that can be collected. At present, only 5 percent of the energy used in America is derived from biomass since the technology needed to use biomass in place of fossil fuels is not widespread yet.

2. Hydrogen - A more recently developed source of energy, hydrogen is a natural gas that has applications for heating buildings and powering cars. Once liquified, hydrogen is contained in large tanks and then passed into solid fuel cells that contain and electrolyte fluid. When the hydrogen and electrolyte fluid mix, a charge is produced and subsequently stored in a battery for later use as an energy source. Using hydrogen is costly, which is why it is not currently used widely.