 The New England Power Pool (NEPOOL), formed in 1971 by the region's private and municipal utilities, was intended to foster cooperation and coordination among utilities in the six-state region.During the next three decades, NEPOOL created a regional power grid that now includes more than 300 separate generating plants and more than 8,000 miles of transmission lines—all interconnected and dedicated to ensuring that New England never again has a region-wide power failure.While the electric power industry's regulated monopolies worked well for generations, by the 1990s the lack of competition provided little reason to improve service, minimize prices or invest in new facilities and technologies.