I understand the Deregulation of the Telephone System back in the 80s but now I am hearing about Deregulation of Energy can this even be possible? the energy companies are so old.

Does this really main we can choose our own energy supplier? What is the benefit if any for me to change and get my Electric from a different place?

There is a relationship between government and distribution of goods (including energy) within the state. Republics and Democracies often rely upon markets to distribute the goods. But not always. Sometimes companies get so big that they become virtual monopolies and eliminate the moderating power of markets. Sometimes governments want to create monopolies as a way to handle certain areas like electricity. In these times regulations take the place of markets. Sometimes governments hand out advantages in the form of subsidiaries. This changes market preferences so regulations are attached as a counterbalance. And sometimes markets are influenced by advertising as in the case of cigarettes so that regulations attempt to control this.

So markets are generally preferred but they don’t always work. Government often blindly go from supporting regulations to supporting markets. Conditions change overtime and regulations may not change as quickly as markets can adapt absent unequal pressures.

Deregulation is the process of shifting back to allowing markets to distribute goods like energy. If there were a silent group fixing prices or media control, deregulation will not work as markets depend upon price to influence buying decisions. If there are too few players in a market deregulation will not work as alternative choices are not available. In theory deregulation will allow prices to fluctuate and permit buyers to choose between different parties offering the same goods or services. In theory this means you could go out and buy your petrol from different suppliers or choose to use another alternative fuel entirely. You could choose to heat your home in any number of ways from different suppliers and could change as quickly as you decide.

Deregulation when there are few alternatives gives more control to the suppliers.