Public-policy responsibilities in a restructured electricity industry

Technical Report · Thu Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1995

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/95553· OSTI ID:95553

Tonn, B; Hirst, E; Bauer, D

In this report, we identify and define the key public-policy values, objectives, and actions that the US electricity industry currently meets. We also discuss the opportunities for meeting these objectives in a restructured industry that relies primarily on market forces rather than on government mandates. And we discuss those functions that governments might undertake, presumably because they will not be fully met by a restructured industry on its own. These discussions are based on a variety of inputs. The most important inputs came from participants in an April 1995 workshop on Public-Policy Responsibilities and Electric Industry Restructuring: Shaping the Research Agenda. Other sources of information and insights include the reviews of a draft of this report by workshop participants and others and the rapidly growing literature on electric-industry restructuring and its implications. One of the major concerns about the future of the electricity industry is the fate of numerous social and environmental programs supported by today`s electric utilities. Many people worry that a market-driven industry may not meet the public-policy objectives that electric utilities have met in the past. Examples of potentially at-risk programs include demand-side management (DSM), renewable energy, low-income weatherization, and fuel diversity. Workshop participants represented electric utilities, public utility commissions (PUCs), state energy offices, public-interest groups, other energy providers, and the research community.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 95553
• Report Number(s): ORNL/CON--420; ON: DE95015660
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
COST
ELECTRIC POWER INDUSTRY
MARKETING
PUBLIC POLICY
PUBLIC UTILITIES