In an op-ed in The Greenville (S.C.) News, Shane McNamee a policy analyst at the S.C. Policy Council, argues for deregulation of South Carolina's energy utility industry

"Over the last nine years, two of South Carolina's largest utilities, SCE&G and Duke Energy Carolinas, hiked rates by more than 20 percent over inflation growth. That's because regulators haven't prevented monopoly: they've guaranteed it with governmental power," McNamee writes.

McNamee does not only envision supply-side deregulation, but also some form of competition in delivery service. Competition would include distributed generation in addition to retail access-style choice.

"'Deregulation,' mind you, doesn't mean price caps or slightly less government meddling. It means the abolition of the Public Service Commission and cost recovery, the end of legally enforced regional monopolies, and legally permitted competition from all energy providers, including solar leasing companies," McNamee adds

See The Greenville News for more