Co-op were created for rural areas. They are not required to participate in deregulation and don't because that is not in the best interest of their members. They exist to keep prices low. If a co-op is having to pay line rental fees to another company then their members are not getting the best deal. But the laws prevent them from charging out the wazoo because they are the only option.
@BooBear: Granted on all of those points. Deregulation was a horrible idea, deregulated parts of Texas pay substantially more for power than other parts of Texas and the country at large. NEC Retail does pay a line-rental fee, but so does Spark and Reliant. The lines are run by Centerpoint. So, anyone you use has to pay a line rental fee: that doesn't make NEC less of a cooperative. A cooperative is just an organization owned and managed by the users, or consented to by the users and not shareholders -- or Capitalists. In even the most strictest of senses, NEC Retail is a cooperative. In the sector it operates in -- energy trading -- you'll have all of the advantages of a cooperative.
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