a designated franchised service area, where a vertically integrated utility regulated by a utility commission controls the generation and delivery of electricity to its customers.
Pros
Have historically resulted in stable pricing and long-term operational certainty.
Cons
They are a monopoly that limits customer choice.
Real Talk
Regulated electricity markets are a vestige of the traditional “centralized” system. The introduction of DER and need for third-party investment necessitate a revised business model. Deregulation, decoupling, CCAs, FITs, etc. are steps in the right direction. In a fully “decentralized” consumers may not even need the grid.