As we all deal with the fallout from the California scene, I wanted to make 
sure everyone was aware of the recent report of the UK's National Audit 
Office (a highly creible organisation, along the lines of the US's General 
Accounting Office, even similar function; independent, too), saying that 
household electricity bills had been cut by 750 million pounds (if you are a 
Yank, multiply by 1.5 for dollars saved), since the industry was opened to 
competition two years ago.  Of course, much of this may be attributable to 
the divestment of assets in the oligopolistic generation sector, now 
competitive, but it is a very fari example of the benefits of competition and 
should be cited as a counterweight to those arguing that competition is a 
"failed experiment".  Paul Dawson, head of our UK regulatory team, can 
provide any necessary further insights./details.   mcs