1.   A bill pending in Congress would deregulate electricity sales nationwide.

2.   Also, federal and state regulators are moving to deregulate electric sales.

3.   A move to deregulate power sales to consumers is driving U.S. electric companies to get bigger.

4.   Buying ADT would help Western, a Topeka, Kansas utility, expand nationally when U.S. electricity sales are deregulated over the next few years.

5.   Congress this year is expected to deregulate power sales, letting consumer choose their power suppliers in much the same way they currently choose long-distance telephone providers.

6.   Illinois is expected to deregulate power sales within a few years.

7.   In Montana, where commercial sales are deregulated, increases to some industrial customers have caused them to lay off hundreds of workers.

8.   New York is one of about five states that has proposed rules for deregulating power sales.

9.   Pennsylvania is one of the first U.S. states to deregulate power sales.