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Electrical Industry Restructuring: From Policy to Implementation
Both in Maine and nationally, one sees continuous evidence of fundamental transformation of the electric utility industry. We continue our coverage of this issue with Evan Richert’s summary of the June 1996, fifth annual conference on Public Utility Regulation and the Environment (PURE). Richert relates the conference discussions to the PUC’s July 1996 draft plan on Electric Utility Industry Restructuring …
Read MoreRetail Wheeling: A Closer Look
In the past few years, Maine’s electric utilities have begun to face the forces of competition. Maine is experiencing the effects of a national trend, a shift from a traditional and regulated system to a more innovative and competitive one. The following four articles offer differing perspectives on this complex and controversial issue. In the first of this series, Gordon …
Read MoreRetail Wheeling. False Competition and Fulfilling the Promise of Retail Wheeling
In the past few years, Maine’s electric utilities have begun to face the forces of competition. Maine is experiencing the effects of a national trend, a shift from a traditional and regulated system to a more innovative and competitive one. The following four articles offer differing perspectives on this complex and controversial issue. In the first of this series, Gordon …
Read MoreRetail Wheeling. Electric Service: The Next Generation
In the past few years, Maine’s electric utilities have begun to face the forces of competition. Maine is experiencing the effects of a national trend, a shift from a traditional and regulated system to a more innovative and competitive one. The following four articles offer differing perspectives on this complex and controversial issue. In the first of this series, Gordon …
Read MoreRetail Wheeling. Electric Market Restructuring: Environmental Considerations
In the past few years, Maine’s electric utilities have begun to face the forces of competition. Maine is experiencing the effects of a national trend, a shift from a traditional and regulated system to a more innovative and competitive one. The following four articles offer differing perspectives on this complex and controversial issue. In the first of this series, Gordon …
Read MoreAssessing Maine’s ERAM Experiment
Maine’s utility regulators have occasionally ventured into the unchartered waters of utility regulation reform. Some such efforts have been more successful than others. The following article documents the process and outcomes of one such attempt at alternative electric utility regulation, the Electric Revenue Adjustment Mechanism, or ERAM. The authors endeavor to answer several questions arising from this brief, but interesting …
Read MoreNews and Commentary: Electricity Costs and the Maine Economy: Review and Prospects
Rising electricity costs over the past several years have set off alarm bells about the possible effects on economic growth in Maine. Efforts to confront the “current crisis,” as one business group dubbed it, have replaced the workers’ comp crisis in the forefront of public debate about Maine’s business climate. Efforts to at least reduce the rate of growth of …
Read MoreElectric Competition and the Federal Energy regulatory Commission
The pricing of electric power is not only an issue at the state level, it also gathers the attention of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. A major pricing issue now facing FERC involves electric transmission. This reflects increased competition in the electric generation business and is of particular concern in the wholesale electricity market, which is regulated by FERC. As …
Read MoreThree Views on Utility-Generated Externalities: Why Include Externalities
“Externalities” are costs imposed on third parties without compensation. Pollution is the archetypical externality. It is the pollution externality that has prompted the emerging national debate over whether public utility regulation should be modified to account for externalities. Jonathan Raab, Myrick Freeman, and Ralph Townsend discuss the arguments surrounding the externality debate. These three authors earlier presented similar material at …
Read MoreThree Views on Utility-Generated Externalities: Are Adders Right for Maine?
“Externalities” are costs imposed on third parties without compensation. Pollution is the archetypical externality. It is the pollution externality that has prompted the emerging national debate over whether public utility regulation should be modified to account for externalities. Jonathan Raab, Myrick Freeman, and Ralph Townsend discuss the arguments surrounding the externality debate. These three authors earlier presented similar material at …
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