S5E10: Economist Diana Moss on the consumer impacts from remonopolization of electricity and other industries

Diana Moss, an economist and Director of Competition Policy at the Progressive Policy Institute, advocates applying antitrust policy throughout the economy for the benefit of consumers. The former FERC economist and former president of the American Antitrust Institute warns that remonopolization of the energy industry, along with the greater consolidation throughout the economy the result of regulators stepping back from antitrust enforcement, is contributing to the "epic cost of living crisis" that's become a major political issue for the midterms. "Consumers are left completely on the side of the road in terms of being protected because that's not happening right now. We're not seeing the agencies or the sector regulators promote competition and protect consumers," Moss says. The impact is being worsened by the Trump administration's efforts to insert itself into energy markets to effectuate desired outcomes, she says. "The rollback of regulations, the refiring of old coal plants, the shutting down of offshore wind, you know, fuel efficiency standards. All of this is happening in an industry where the planning horizon for firms is very long. We're not talking about a nimble industry with the ability to pivot quickly in terms of planning and expansion. We're talking about an industry that has a very long-term planning horizon. And you know, coal is gone. Coal is permanently gone. It's not coming back. \[T]his disruption that the Trump administration has layered in on the energy industry is putting the industry into this state of of paralysis, and it is worsening our ability to remain competitive on the global scale. It is driving up costs for consumers." The new poster child for consolidation in the electricity sector is the massive proposed merger between Dominion Energy and NextEra Energy, which would create the largest utility in the country. Federal antitrust regulators have already signed off on the merger, leaving sector regulators like FERC and state utility commissions to protect the interests of consumers, she says. She notes that the companies' primary justification for their consolidation rests largely with the prospect of producing economies of scale that drive down costs, particularly in terms of meeting anticipated demand from the data center buildout. "But you know the question is, what are the costs of that in terms of increased market power and ability to affect rates and who builds what and where and who gets access to those markets?" Support the show