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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Electric utility regulation and national energy policy

Journal Article · · Regulation; (United States)
OSTI ID:6609665
Utility regulation was generally considered a state concern prior to 1973, when most regulation involved distribution. State public commission (PUC) concerns today are centered on energy-supply insecurities and economic constraints. This review of PUC performances examines the rate of return on common stock rankings to show how regulatory lag and the use of historical rather than future use data has affected the utility industry by ignoring inflation and has hampered efforts to achieve national energy goals. The result has been to jeopardize national security and utility reliability. A correlation is indicated between an unfavorable regulatory climate and several PUC political, institutional, and idealogical variables. Reforms could be made at the Federal level with short-run interventions, by nationalizing or regionalizing regulation, or with a Federal standards approach. Reform by state legislatures could introduce political risks if public response overreacts to the problems created by past pro-consumer demands. (DCK)
OSTI ID:
6609665
Journal Information:
Regulation; (United States), Journal Name: Regulation; (United States) Vol. 5:1; ISSN REGUD
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English