Double-digit electricity rate hikes could cause an economic crisis in Pennsylvania. But if enough people voice their outrage, it will motivate state lawmakers to do something — to either extend rate caps or find ways to create a truly competitive market that will hold down prices.

State Sen. Vincent Fumo, D-Philadelphia, has compared the approaching electricity rate increases to a major tax hike. "If we were to tell people that we were going to raise their taxes by $365 a year or more — and get nothing back for it — there would be outrage."

There should be outrage. The deregulated electricity market was supposed to apply market forces and that, in turn, was supposed to produce lower electricity rates. But that didn't happen.

Other states that deregulated electricity have had similar experiences. But going back to the good old days of a regulated electricity market is difficult, if not impossible. In Connecticut, where a scenario similar to Pennsylvania's has evolved, one regulator said, "The egg has been broken and scrambled. You can't go back. The approach that needs to be taken is to make it better."

Electricity deregulation is, in principle, a good idea. In Pennsylvania, it was pushed by Enron, among others, and state lawmakers passed legislation at 4 a.m. on Nov. 22, 1996, altering the electricity market here. But now, Enron, the poster-boy of corporate malfeasance, is gone, and deregulation of the electricity market has not succeeded as promised.

Complaints from some state lawmakers that industry lobbyists had too much influence in crafting the legislation should have been a warning sign.

Fumo, a vocal opponent of the 1996 deregulation effort, and a recent advocate for fighting to prevent escalating rates, argues that the electric industry has reaped massive financial benefits from profitable power plants that ratepayers have paid for through the added charges for "stranded costs" included on their monthly bills.

Calling power plants "cash machines,"Fumo recently said, "I don't mind them having cash machines. Imind them not paying for them."

Joining with Fumo and other state lawmakers in taking the lead to find a solution to avoid massive jumps in electricity bills, state Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Northampton, notes that "Pennsylvanians paid $12 billion to these former 'public utilities' for the promise of real competition, more choices and lower electric rates."

Boscola is proposing a two-year extension of rate caps, now scheduled to come off for most of the state in 2010, so there will be more time for state officials to find a long-term solution and create a truly competitive market for electricity.

Fumo, who is fighting federal corruption charges and just announced that he will not return to the state legislature in the fall, has proposed limiting annual increases in electricity rates to 5 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower.

There might be other options, but there is no easy fix. The failure of electricity deregulation requires Pennsylvanians to press their state lawmakers to fight the utilities and find ways to prevent the economic damage to the state that will surely come if electricity costs jump 50 percent or more in the next few years.

Beyond possible legislative solutions, there might be relief in legal action taken recently against PJM Interconnection, the grid operator for 13 states, including Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia. In late May, a 13-state coalition filed a 211-page complaint asking the Federal Regulatory Commission to refund excess payments that the coalition estimates at $12 billion.

In Illinois last year, soaring electricity rates sparked allegations of overcharging, and state officials secured $1 billion in refunds to ratepayers after producing evidence of bid-fixing and collusion among energy companies.

The battle on behalf of Pennsylvania residents and businesses to prevent dramatic electricity rate increases must intensify now. Fumo and Boscola have fired some early warning shots, telling the industry that they will not roll over and allow residents and businesses in Pennsylvania to foot the coming bills. State Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Allegheny, told utility lobbyists and others at a recent news conference, "Let's get ready to rumble."

The approaching end to electricity rate caps poses a serious threat to the state that few people are aware of — and fewer still really understand. Lawmakers and other public officials must find solutions to the crisis and ways to either impose a true competitive marketplace, or at least limit power companies to reasonable rates of return, and not exorbitant profits.

This is just the beginning. It's important for people to stay informed on this issue and press lawmakers to prevent damaging rate hikes from arriving as scheduled.