Energy Restructuring, Demystified.

There was a time in the United States when every household dealt with one utility company. That company delivered electricity and natural gas energy to your home and set the price for those energy supplies, usually with the state government's regulatory approval.

Back then, it was a monopoly born out of necessity since it allowed for the building of the massive infrastructure needed to deliver energy to hundreds of millions of homes. But as an energy consumer, you had no choice but to buy your natural gas and electricity from your utility. They set the prices, and you had to pay their energy rates. Period.

Starting back in 1977, lawmakers in 17 states -- 15 of which currently MXenergy serves -- began to change their regulations in order to allow energy suppliers to offer natural gas and electricity to its citizens, usually at lower rates than the local utility company could offer. That, in essence, is what energy restructuring, is all about: giving consumers the freedom to choose their own energy supply.

The utility company still plays an important role in the process. They still ensure your energy supply is safely delivered to your home, track your energy usage, maintain the infrastructure (pipes and wires) and, in most cases, send you your bill (only now, there's a line item for either your electricity or natural gas supplier). The utility companies in restructuring states are ok with this arrangement since they make their profit more on the maintenance and service of your home. In that sense, utilities are not our competition, they're our partner. In fact, many utilities even list energy suppliers like MXenergy on their website.

Energy restructuring has created huge opportunities for many energy suppliers that could now offer energy to millions of consumers. Many of these suppliers are new to the industry, and new to consumers. MXenergy, however, was one of the first independent energy suppliers, and has grown to be one of the top providers in the business.

From day one, MXenergy has done its best to keep energy rates simple, competitively priced and the customer service higher than anyone else's in the energy business. We even created a Customer Bill of Rights . Our straightforward, simple approach to energy has allowed MXenergy to become one of the largest independent energy companies in North America. In short, we're the official energy company of the people.