Back in the early 1980's telephone providers that operated as the only utility company available to provide service for a geographical area monopolized the telecommunications industry.
The Bell companies were the largest provider of telephone services in the country, operating under several different Bell names across the nation Ma Bell was a monopoly.
Under the republican-run white house the president signed a bill that deregulated the monopoly allowing other service providers to enter the market and give customers competitive pricing for their telephone service.
The emergence of additional service providers to consumers meant the breakup of the monopoly and the freedom to choose other options for service.
Three decades later the country is beginning to see the deregulation of monopolies in the energy utilities.
Electricity and gas companies that were once the only providers of power in cities and towns across the country are now seeing a choice of competitors entering the marketplace.
With deregulation comes an opportunity for alternative energy sources and resellers of electricity to pick up customers that have long been tired of paying high prices for electricity.
In Missouri, TX electric company alternatives are vying for customers to switch providers from the old monopoly to a younger more cost-effective alternative electricity provider.
Just as the telecommunications industry was transformed by deregulation the electricity and natural gas industry is beginning to offer better pricing and incentives for those that have chosen to switch utility providers and save a few extra dollars each month on their utility bills.