Successes and Failures in Regulating and Deregulating Utilities


Book Description

This book is the latest annual review of utility regulation and deregulation, published in association with the Institute of Economic Affairs and the London Business School




Markets for Power


Book Description

This timely study evaluates four generic proposals for allowing free market forces toreplace government regulation in the electric power industry and concludes that none of thederegulation alternatives considered represents a panacea for the performance failures associatedwith things as they are now. It proposes a balanced program of regulatory reform and deregulationthat promises to improve industry performance in the short run, resolve uncertainties about thecosts and benefits of deregulation, and positions the industry for more extensive deregulation inthe long run should interim experimentation with deregulation, structural, and regulatory reformsmake it desirable.The book integrates modern microeconomic theory with a comprehensive analysis ofthe economic, technical, and institutional characteristics of modern electrical power systems. Itemphasizes that casual analogies to successful deregulation efforts in other sectors of the economyare an inadequate and potentially misleading basis for public policy in the electric power industry,which has economic and technical characteristics that are quite different from those in otherderegulated industries.Paul L. Joskow is Professor of Economics at MIT, author of ControllingHospital Costs (MIT Press 1981) and coauthor with Martin L. Baughman and Dilip P. Kamat of ElectricPower in the United States (MIT Press 1979). Richard Schmalensee, also at MIT, is Professor ofApplied Economics, author of The Economics of Advertising and The Control of Natural Monopolies, andeditor of The MIT Press Series, Regulation of Economic Activity.




The California Electricity Crisis


Book Description




Electricity Economics


Book Description

Written originally as a manual for the Federal Energy Commission to train regional rate regulators, this is a clear, comprehensive primer on the principles of economics and finance underlying the regulation of electricity markets and the deregulation of electricity generation.




Electricity Deregulation


Book Description

The electricity market has experienced enormous setbacks in delivering on the promise of deregulation. In theory, deregulating the electricity market would increase the efficiency of the industry by producing electricity at lower costs and passing those cost savings on to customers. As Electricity Deregulation shows, successful deregulation is possible, although it is by no means a hands-off process—in fact, it requires a substantial amount of design and regulatory oversight. This collection brings together leading experts from academia, government, and big business to discuss the lessons learned from experiences such as California's market meltdown as well as the ill-conceived policy choices that contributed to those failures. More importantly, the essays that comprise Electricity Deregulation offer a number of innovative prescriptions for the successful design of deregulated electricity markets. Written with economists and professionals associated with each of the network industries in mind, this comprehensive volume provides a timely and astute deliberation on the many risks and rewards of electricity deregulation.




The Economic and Social Regulation of Public Utilities


Book Description

Utilities have long been essential for societies, supplying basic services for nations, organizations and households alike. The proper functioning and regulation of utilities is therefore critical for the economy, society and security. History provides an invaluable insight into important issues of the economic and social regulation of utilities and offers guidance for future debates. However, the history of utility regulation – which speaks of changing, diverse and complex experiences around the world – was sidelined or marginalised when economists and policy-makers enthusiastically embraced the question of how to reform the utilities from the 1970s. This book examines in depth the complex regulation and deregulation of energy, communications, transportation and water utilities across Western Europe, the United States, Australia, Brazil, China and India. In each case, attention is drawn to the changing roles of the state, the market and firms in the regulation, organization and delivery of utility services. This book was originally published as a special issue of Business History.




Electric Power Planning for Regulated and Deregulated Markets


Book Description

As the industry environment transforms from a completely regulated setting to a broader, deregulated marketplace, new market participants must understand planning and operations of power systems to effectively participate in markets. This industry overview provides a description of utility operations and traditional planning, and then explains asset management, investment analysis, and risk management within the context of a market environment. Written to provide a broad, working knowledge of the industry, Electric Power Planning for Regulated and Deregulated Markets: Includes descriptions of generation and transmission network equipment Provides an overview of the regulatory framework, system design and systems operations for ensuring reliable delivery of power Presents system planning across different time horizons with the objective of minimizing power production costs Explains the principles and architecture of a market environment coupling operational imperatives with financial transactions Addresses approaches of various participants, including power producers, retailers, and integrated energy companies toward bidding in day ahead markets, managing risks in forward markets, portfolio development and investment analysis Provides numerous examples addressing cost minimization, price forecasting, contract valuation, portfolio risk measurement and others Examines past news events and explains what went wrong at Three Mile Island, the Northeast blackout of 2003, and the California energy crisis This is an ideal reference for professionals in the public and private power service sectors such as engineers, lawyers, systems specialists, economists, financial analysts, policy analysts, and applied mathematicians.




Understanding Electric Utilities and De-Regulation


Book Description

Power interruptions of the scale of the North American Blackout of 2003 are rare, but they still loom as a possibility. Will the aging infrastructure fail because deregulated monopolies have no financial incentives to upgrade? Is centralized planning becoming subordinate to market forces? Understanding Electric Utilities and De-Regulation, Second Edition provides an updated, non-technical description that sheds light on the nature of the industry and the issues involved in its transition away from a regulated environment. The book begins by broadly surveying the industry, from a regulated utility structure to the major concepts of de-regulation to the history of electricity, the technical aspects, and the business of power. Then, the authors delve into the technologies and functions on which the industry operates; the many ways that power is used; and the various means of power generation, including central generating stations, renewable energy, and single-household size generators. The authors then devote considerable attention to the details of regulation and de-regulation. To conclude, one new chapter examines aging infrastructures and reliability of service, while another explores the causes of blackouts and how they can be prevented. Based on the authors' extensive experience, Understanding Electric Utilities and De-Regulation, Second Edition offers an up-to-date perspective on the major issues impacting the daily operations as well as the long-term future of the electric utilities industry.




Economic Regulation and Its Reform


Book Description

The past thirty years have witnessed a transformation of government economic intervention in broad segments of industry throughout the world. Many industries historically subject to economic price and entry controls have been largely deregulated, including natural gas, trucking, airlines, and commercial banking. However, recent concerns about market power in restructured electricity markets, airline industry instability amid chronic financial stress, and the challenges created by the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, which allowed commercial banks to participate in investment banking, have led to calls for renewed market intervention. Economic Regulation and Its Reform collects research by a group of distinguished scholars who explore these and other issues surrounding government economic intervention. Determining the consequences of such intervention requires a careful assessment of the costs and benefits of imperfect regulation. Moreover, government interventions may take a variety of forms, from relatively nonintrusive performance-based regulations to more aggressive antitrust and competition policies and barriers to entry. This volume introduces the key issues surrounding economic regulation, provides an assessment of the economic effects of regulatory reforms over the past three decades, and examines how these insights bear on some of today’s most significant concerns in regulatory policy.




Power System Restructuring and Deregulation


Book Description

Die Umstrukturierung und Liberalisierung der Stromerzeugung brachte tiefgreifende Veränderungen des Marktes, des Wettbewerbs, der Technologien und nicht zuletzt der gesetzlichen Vorschriften mit sich. Dieser Band konzentriert sich auf die technischen Fortschritte und bespricht derzeit aktuelle Probleme anhand anschaulicher Fallstudien. So werden zum Beispiel neue Verfahren zur Vorhersage der Netzlast erläutert. Von international renommierten Experten geschrieben! (07/00)