When it comes to energy providers, Pennsylvania lights up the competition.

In a speech given to top business executives and U.S. government officials at the National Energy Summit last week, Gov. Tom Ridge used Pennsylvania as an example to discuss marketplace solutions for a more effective energy policy.

While California's energy deregulation plan experiences problems such as blackouts and companies' loss of profits, business executives and U.S. government officials listened to Ridge's testimony of success with Pennsylvania's energy deregulation plan.

"(Pennsylvania was) one of the first states to bring choice and competition to the electric industry," Ridge said in a press release.

"Now we're the nation's leader," Ridge added.

When Ridge entered office in 1995, electric rates in Pennsylvania were 15 percent higher than the national average, said Tom Charles, spokesman for Gov. Ridge.

In order to fix the problem, Ridge signed the Electricity Generation Customer Choice and Competition Act to broaden the marketplace of electrical providers, thus making rates lower.

With the system still in effect, Pennsylvania is now under the national average for electrical rates by four percent, Charles said. "What I pay today is the same or no more than what I paid in '96," said Kevin Cadden, spokesman for the Public Utility Commission. With the variety of generation services in Pennsylvania, residents have saved $3 billion because under the system electrical rates are capped, Cadden said.

"Customers would like prices to be lower, but it's hard to complain when prices don't go up," he said.

In addition to saving money, Pennsylvanians also benefit with the creation of jobs from the all the competitors in the state.

Seven different electric providers, including PECO Energy and Allegheny Power, currently serve customers in Pennsylvania.

From these companies, an estimated 36,000 jobs will be created by 2004, according the press release.