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.

A perceptive account of the deregulation of the electric power industry.

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)

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.

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.

Most Americans still do not understand electric utilities, and many consumers have only a vague grasp of the intricacies of regulation and deregulation. This is a paradox of sorts; regulation, in particular, seems easy enough to grasp. The real difficulty lies in understanding how power companies have manipulated the regulators. If you think utility deregulation has done away with electric utility monopolies, think again! Deregulation is a myth-it's business as usual for the power companies. For most of America, utility deregulation has yet to become a reality. Even if it does, electric companies will still swindle those they serve. Why? One reason: deregulation allows the utility giants to retain control of the transmission and distribution of electricity. Utility cheating has gone unchecked for more than a century. Author Joe Seeber has caught the electric companies red-handed, from fudged financials and courtroom trickery to meter manipulation and outright fraud. He paints a compelling portrait of an industry wired for greed-and argues that it's time someone pulled the plug.

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.