Electricity is an essential good in the present era. There is generally no competition on the provider. As such the the energy company has a large amount of p

Electricity is an essential good in the present era. There is generally no competition on the provider. As such the the energy company has a large amount of pricing power. Price controls, when done properly in such a situation, give the energy company enough profit to make it a worthwhile endeavor to be a provider for enough people whilst also preventing what is popularly referred to as price gouging. Price controls can be a good thing and when done properly allow for providers to make a sufficient amount of profit to be worthwhile for enough people whilst preventing gouging. Preventing "gouging" is the effect of capping the amount the of profit. Regulating the price that utility companies can charge has not resulted in shortages. For the most part, regulating how much insurance companies can charge has not resulted in shortages. Price controls, in and of themself do not cause shortages.