The Energy Retailer Research Consortium (ERRC), an independent research organization, has issued an analysis of retail electricity competition in residential and commercial/industrial markets throughout the United States and Canada. The Annual Baseline Assessment of Choice in Canada and the United States (ABACCUS) reports identify successful markets and explain the policy choices that led to those successes.

According to the ABACCUS reports, commercial and industrial customer choice is thriving in many US states and Canadian provinces because well designed and structured electric markets foster the introduction of numerous product offerings and services that were not available in traditional electric markets. The reports identify Texas and New York as leaders in the US and the province of Alberta as a leader in Canada.

As the study shows, competitive electricity markets give customers a choice of energy solutions and enable them to better manage their energy bills. In addition, competitive electricity markets create new economy clean energy jobs and promote technological innovation for a 21st Century electric infrastructure.