Power companies will fight something like this tooth and nail. Though maybe the Enron fiasco will weaken their stance.

I'm not sure how happy the Natural gas providers will be. On the one hand it appears that natural gas is part of the process; but from some of the applications they mentioned, I get the fealing that it requires very little. On the other hand, this could actually reduce dependance on natural gas for cooking and heating, as electic applications become cheaper. There will of course still be the folks who prefer the instant heat advantage of gas stoves, so it won't be too bad.

I'd be interested in seeing if anything comes of this.