Deregulating the Generation of Electricity Through the Creation of Spot Markets for Bulk Power

Many observers are dissatisfied with the current condition of privately owned electric utilities in the United States. Numerous pro- posals have been made for change, including suggestions to deregulate all or part of the industry.' Those who favor deregulation argue that electric power systems...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Energy journal (Cambridge, Mass.) Mass.), 1984-04, Vol.5 (2), p.71-91
Main Authors: Bohn, Roger E., Golub, Bennett W., Tabors, Richard D., Schweppe, Fred C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Business structures
Deregulation
Documents
Electric generators
Electric power
Electric power generation
Electric power systems
Electric utilities
Electricity
Electricity distribution
Energy
Energy Policy Forum
Industrial regulation
Literature reviews
Market prices
Marketing
Operating costs
Price regulation
Regulation
United States
Utility deregulation
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Summary:Many observers are dissatisfied with the current condition of privately owned electric utilities in the United States. Numerous pro- posals have been made for change, including suggestions to deregulate all or part of the industry.' Those who favor deregulation argue that electric power systems, and especially electric generation, may no longer be natural monopolies. Furthermore, under the present regulatory regime, many utilities are refraining from investing, which is not in the best interests of their customers.2 Others, however, worry that quality and reliability of 1. See Golub (1982, Chapter 2) for a review of the literature on deregulating electricutilities. 2. A major electric utility's internal planning documents discussed the problem as follows. The ability to raise new capital is finite, and is especially limited given the current financial condition, the economy, and the regulatory climate. Thus, although the recommended investments ... will lead to a correct economic decision ... they may not be desirable due to other constraints [on the company] ... The document goes on to report that the company is not investing in coal projects, although such projects' long-term cost is one-third less than current anticipated generating costs.
ISSN:0195-6574
1944-9089
DOI:10.5547/ISSN0195-6574-EJ-Vol5-No2-5