Obviously when we are purchasing raw power for a membership of tens-of-thousands, we can do a better job leveraging a good price that an individual acting alone - with the bargaining power of one.

Deregulation will only apply to the generation of electricity and not the transmission of it. In other words, customers' current provider will still maintain the lines that run to their houses. What consumers in a deregulated market will have is access to a variety of companies that actually run power plants and produce the electricity. Those companies, many of whom you have probably never heard of, will soon begin targeting residential customers with advertisements and telephone solicitations. Chances are, many will find it fairly overwhelming.

Co-op members can select, through their boards of directors, to continue using the bargaining power of their cooperative to find the best deals available in the new deregulated environment. This means co-op members will be able to take advantage of the benefits of deregulation without fully opting into a situtation where they are bombarded with the often confusing options - as has happened with the deregulation of other industries.

Co-ops can take their time making decision about opting in as well. Any time after January 1, 2002, a cooperative's board of directors can vote to opt-in. However, once the decision in made, it cannot be reversed. There will be no such thing as then opting out.

That is why the ten co-ops, including Houston County Electric Cooperative, that make up East Texas Electric Cooperatives (ETEC) have been engaging in efforts to gauge the desire of our members wihen it comes to how we should proceed on this issue. We have done a number of things to get feedback from our customers, including participation in a random survey of members. This is what we've learned:

Members place a great deal of trust in their elected co-op board members. They recognize that being part of a co-op offers them a unique advantage in a deregulated marketplace. Whatever happens, they don't want to lose this advantage.

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