The Greatest Transfer of Wealth in US History?

It is in such a time of opportunity that we as Americans must not look to only help ourselves, but we must look to help everyone. Some people have no desire to pursue the business side of anything, but they too should benefit. With the deregulation of energy, both types of people benefit.

For those who are looking for a business opportunity, there is no doubt that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. People like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates are buying shares in companies that are involved in the deregulation of energy. For most people that is just not a feasible option. However, there are opportunities that anyone interested in the industry can take part in. Links to those opportunities can be found below.

For those who have no interest in the business side there are still benefits to be had. Everyone uses electricity and gas, and the deregulation of energy will result in lower rates, and improved service. If you have any doubt of that, simply look at the telecom industry and what the rates are there. You can get unlimited long distance for only $20 or less.

My mission is to educate people about the deregulation of energy. There are millions of people that have a choice for their provider but that have not made a change even though it would save them money. With a lot of work, and a little bit of luck, more people will be educated, and more people will benefit from this amazing opportunity.

When deregulation was first being proposed, people were swayed by the promise of drastically lower rates and improved service. Like most things in life the public expected that to come immediately, but that has not proven to be the case.

According to an article in the Washington Times roughly 120,000 customers risk having their gas shut-off because they cannot afford to pay the rising rates. After 10 years of deregulation the rates have only gone up in Maryland.

While it would be simple to blame it all on the gas companies, there is rarely only one source of blame in any problem. Other states have found success with deregulation so it seems very short-sighted to believe that deregulation is the cause of the rate increases.

It could be that government regulation is preventing true competition from occurring. If that is the case, then the rates would only go up, because it is competition that will drive rates down as has been seen with the deregulation of the airline and telecom industries.

It could also be that the rise in rates is simply a result of increased gas prices across the country due to speculators and natural disasters. The volatility of the market is not in any one company's control, so to blame them for that would be ridiculous.

The lawmakers in Maryland concede that reregulating natural gas will not guarantee improved rates or services; they are just scrambling for an answer. It is no coincidence to me that they are just throwing out the answers they think people want to hear.

That is what politicians do in this day and age. Rather than stepping up and doing what is right, they simply do what is popular. If the lawmakers in Maryland, and other states, would analyze what is working, and what is not, they would undoubtedly find the problem and be able to come up with a solution.

That may be to reregulate, but judging by the success in other states, like Texas, and the success of other industries, I would say that tweaking the processes and regulations would lead to results closer to those originally intended.

Green energy is something that is becoming extremely popular throughout the world. People are more aware of the impact we are having on the environment than ever before. It is something that everyone has to at least consider at some point. However, it has also traditionally been more expensive than other, traditional energy sources.

Deregulation promises to lower electricity rates for everyone, but is the same going to be true for green energy? In Texas, there are numerous choices for green energy. Though interestingly enough Reliant was the only incumbent provider that I could find offering a green plan. The major green providers are competitive retail electric providers (CREP's).

Green Mountain is one of these providers that provides exclusively green energy. Their rates are naturally a little higher than most, but they are sometimes lower than conventional electric companies thanks to deregulation.

The other major provider with a green energy plan is Stream Energy. They provide a Green and Clean plan with different term lengths. The different options are a month-to-month plan and fixed-rate plans of either 6-month or 12-month terms. While they also offer conventional electric sources, their green plans are becoming more and more popular. They also benefit from their added buying power by providing both sources of energy. Their rates are consistently low, and their green plans are often cheaper than most company's conventional rates.

It is great to see the good impact that is coming through deregulation. Not only is it helping electric rates come down, but it is also helping green energy to become more popular by making it more affordable. This is one benefit of the deregulation process that may not have been considered when it first came into practice.

While browsing through the internet I came across an article that was a letter to the editor of the Baltimore Sun. Maryland has deregulated both electricity and gas.

It is true that many customers are not seeing the savings that they were expecting when deregulation was first announced, but who is really at fault there? Most people have not even looked at other companies to see if the rate was cheaper, they just expected it to come to them. These people wanted all the benefits without exerting the effort necessary to use them.

One company in Georgia asked 10,000 of their new customers if they had ever made a change before joining this company. A total of approximately 600 of them had done so. A whopping six percent of the new customers had even tried to find a better rate. That is why education is truly the message of this opportunity. Most people don't realize the better rates are out there so they just stay where they are.

Naturally the big monopolies that existed before deregulation don't want people to get educated, because that means they can keep robbing the blind. One man in Texas had never looked at changing companies, but when his son joined one of the new competitive electric providers he switched to help his son. That switch saved him between $100-200 a month.

No one in their right mind would choose not to switch, but like this man they don't realize the opportunity to switch is out there. They heard about all of these savings they would get and just expected it to happen. With a little bit of effort on their part they would find cheaper rates, the big monopolies would lose customers, and they too would be forced to lower their rates.

So before people want to write off the deregulation of energy as a "colossal failure" they better first consider what they have done to benefit from it.

Stream Energy has completed its first full year in its second state, Georgia. The first two weeks of service in Georgia resulted in payouts of over a million dollars in commissions for two weeks in a row to Ignite associates. This was only the beginning of what was a huge year for Stream Energy, and especially its marketing arm, Ignite.

During 2008 many things were achieved by these two companies. According to the Dallas Morning News Stream is now the 37th largest private company in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. By comparison, the Dallas Cowboys are normally in the 80's or 90's.

There were also numerous awards and recognitions that Stream and Ignite received. The Genesys Customer Innovations Awards selected Stream as one of the two most innovative companies in North America when it comes to customer service, giving them a 4-star ranking.

The founder of Stream Energy was given the Entrepeneur of the Year award by Ernst & Young. Previous recipients include Michael Dell and Mark Cuban.

Ignite became the first energy marketer to be accepted into the Direct Selling Association. This is an elite organization that requires the highest of standards in the direct selling field.

Stream Energy was also named a finalist for the prestigious Platts Global Energy Rising Star Award for the second year in a row.

All of these accolades show the power of the deregulation of energy. This is only one company operating in two states. Imagine the opportunity as more states open. Texas alone is the number 12 energy market in the world, right behind Great Britain. In other words, one US state is larger than most countries in the world.

In short, find a company you can attach to, and join in on the success of this industry. Congrats to Stream and Ignite for another great milestone.