An Analysis Of Options For Structural Reform In Electric Utility Regulation

The electric utility industry is attracting attention as a candidate for deregulation. This report identifies the core economic functions that the electric supply industry must fulfill, whether it operates under its current regulatory structure or one that is substantially less regulated. Having identified these core functions, the authors suggest ways to evaluate short-run efficiency and long-run efficiency gains that may occur in both the current environment and under the alternative suggestions for deregulation. They do not attempt to provide detailed evaluations of the alternatives, but rather suggest a framework within which the alternatives can be judged. The report includes a brief review of four recent policy developments that provide some insight and confirmation for the conjectures the authors develop.

. . . this volume comes across as one of the most profound sources on the specifics of European electricity market restructuring. Competition and Regulation in Network Industries The SESSA study on the Internal Energy Market was an important and influential contribution towards the Commission s proposal for a third package of proposals, intending to bring more effective competition and better security of supply to Europe s energy markets. This volume, based on the results of the study is an important and welcome contribution to the ongoing debate on these proposals. Andris Piebalgs, Commissioner for Energy at the European Commission The chapters in this book are written by the leading European scholars who have studied the structure, behavior and performance of liberalised electricity markets in many European countries as well as in other regions of the world. Both the analyses and the policy recommendations contained in this volume are well worth careful consideration by policymakers in Europe, as well as by policymakers in other countries that are seeking to adopt successful electricity sector liberalisation programs. From the foreword by Paul L. Joskow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US Dynamism or dissipation? Competition or national champions? Will enlargement promote or delay reform? Energy economists contemplate the challenges posed by the restless and discontent European Commission. Stephen Littlechild, University of Birmingham and Judge Institute for Management Studies, University of Cambridge, UK The challenge of European electricity reform is being met, although gradually, delays notwithstanding. This book provides precious help in spotting where the necessary further efforts should be directed. In the US mistakes and delays have occurred, no less than in Europe, but an aggressive federal regulator (absent in Europe) is working to overcome them. Electricity markets do not happen, they have to be built. Here are suggestions for a workable European market design. No ideology, just competence and wisdom from both theory and experience. Will Europe learn? Pippo Ranci, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy The realisation of a European internal market for energy is still a work in progress. Written by leading European scholars and discussed with major energy stakeholders, this book presents a thorough analysis of the motives and methods needed to achieve a single European energy market. The authors discuss the critical issues surrounding an internal European energy market including: market design, competition and market power, sustainable energy versus the market, regulation and harmonisation, benchmarking and indicators, modelling of competition, market prices and energy forecasts. They provide a multi-disciplinary assessment of the best way to build the market base of a future European energy policy. Electricity Reform in Europe will be of great interest to decision makers and managers in the energy industry or business sector as they will be able to see the whole European energy policy picture beyond their own corporate interests. The book will also appeal to national and European energy administrations, regulatory bodies and policy makers providing a synthesis of all relevant policy issues.

Regulatory Choices offers the first comprehensive economic history of energy policy and its consequences for California, where some of the most innovative and far-ranging programs of regulatory reform have originated. The authors of this volume have gathered together an impressive wealth of material about actual policy decisions and their repercussions and have subjected their findings to astute economic analysis. This book will serve for years to come as an invaluable reference on the costs and effects of various energy policies. With its focus on bringing prices in alignment with the true cost of producing power and delivering it to the customer, the first part of the book outlines the issue of setting utility rates and considers some of the proposals to provide regulated industries with incentives to respond to economic and environmental concerns. The problems of energy supply occupy the second part of the book, which includes a survey of the costs of alternative energy sources and estimates of their environmental impacts, as well as a case study of the construction of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. The book concludes by documenting the results of subsidy programs that were designed to target the development of wind power and residential energy conservation. Regulators, we learn, have a mixed record when it comes to managing the production of energy. Some conservation programs have enjoyed considerable economic success, particularly those that correct a lack of consumer information. Others, such as the renewable energy tax credits or programs designed to subsidize new technologies, have cost much more than the value of the energy they have saved. What emerges clearly from this study is that regulated industries are not immune from the forces of competition. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1991.

Learn from this collection of thought-provoking commentary on change and electric regulatory reform from executives, state regulators, and federal commissioners in the regulatory community. Plus, perspectives from other players -- the utilities governed by these regulators, the financial community (rating agencies), independent power producers, and public power.