Reinventing electric utilities: Competition, citizen action, and clean power

Technical Report · Sun Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1996

OSTI ID:676137

Smeloff, E; Asmus, P

The authors consider the challenges for citizens and the utility industry in this new era of competition. Through an in-depth case study of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), a once-troubled utility that is now widely regarded as a model for energy efficiency and renewable energy development, they explore the changes that have occurred in the utility industry, and the implications of those changes for the future. The SMUD portrait is complemented by regional case studies of Portland General Electric and the Washington Public Power Supply System, the New England Electric Service, Northern States Power, the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas, and others that highlight the efforts of citizen groups and utilities to eliminate unproductive and environmentally damaging sources of power and to promote the use of new, cleaner energy technologies. The authors present and explain some of the fundamental principles that govern restructuring, while acknowledging that solutions will depend upon the unique resource needs, culture, and utility structure of each particular region.

• Research Organization: Island Press, Washington, DC (United States)
• OSTI ID: 676137
• Report Number(s): ISLAND--0083/XAB; ISBN 1559634553
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
DEREGULATION
ELECTRIC UTILITIES
ENERGY POLICY
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
INTEREST GROUPS
INTERVENORS
PUBLIC RELATIONS