The Board also approves the price utilities can charge consumers for the natural gas they use.

Critics say it is unreasonable to charge consumers for access to their own money.

While the companies have to pay market rates for their power, the rates they can charge consumers remain regulated until March 2002.

No one knows how much to charge consumers for an electronic book, either.

Energy is a big cost of production, and this lower cost gave companies more leeway to keep down the prices they charge consumers.

Should a manufacturer have the power to tell retailers what to charge consumers for a product?

That $6 billion is the difference between the price utility companies had to pay for electricity and the price they were allowed to charge consumers.

But the prices that local utilities could charge consumers remained under state control.

However, the prices the local utility companies could charge consumers remained partly regulated.

That can allow carriers to lower their costs and, potentially, the prices they charge consumers.