Competition as a Catalyst for Positive Change

“To compete, or not to compete – that is the question facing today’s electricity industry.” So starts a recent blog posting by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), titled “New Report: Competition Leads to Savings and Cleaner Energy.” EDF, an environmental thought-leader, argues that competitive markets provide the best path towards a lower-cost, cleaner energy grid.

Why does this matter? It’s time to de-carbonize the grid – a step that’s good for the economy and good for society – and we agree with EDF that robust competition is the most effective way to get there.  Healthy competition and rivalries not only make for good stories, and in some cases, they even have the potential to reshape the future for good.

Think about the mentorship turned “war of currents” between Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla. A young student of Thomas Edison’s – Nikola Tesla – used his unique insights to rethink his instructor’s works. These brilliant minds worked to solve for the new ways to power the world; they challenged each other’s suppositions and their competitive spirit hastened the development of the large-scale power transmission system we still enjoy.

Today, the way we generate, deliver and consume energy is also in the midst of transformation. And we still believe that competition encourages faster development and deployment of new technologies.

This is a complex issue with many inputs, so we encourage everyone to stay tuned in and ask questions. For our part, NRG will continue to work toward competitive markets that encourage large scale, long-term, renewable energy development within a reliable, affordable energy environment.