There are two principal choices of the baseline from which emissions trading may take place: 1) emission reduction credits (ERCs) in which the baseline is existing regulations which are often activity-based; and 2) cap-and-trade which specified the total allowable emissions. This paper examines...

One purpose of electricity restructuring is to create a market in which prices reflect costs to which both generators and consumers may respond efficiently. Yet in many jurisdictions, spot prices may be quite volatile, and both consumers and generators of electricity have made it clear that they...

Competitive electricity markets are artificial markets with extensive rules for all participants arising from the complex interconnections of the electricity network. Governments or regulatory agencies oversee the market design process and the operation and maintenance of the market, so market...

Growing concern about the environmental effects of electricity generation is renewing demands for electricity conservation and efficient usage. With a substantial fraction of the population insulated from energy price signals in bulk-metered apartment and condominium buildings, some...

Economic evaluation of green or renewable power should compare the cost of renewable power with the cost savings from displaced fossil generation plus the avoided harm from reduced emissions of air pollution and greenhouse gases. We use existing estimates of the values of the harm and we...

Electricity prices should fully link the consumer price to peak-period generation costs, environmental costs and the high cost of new generation, according to an expert analysis released today by the C.D. Howe Institute. The author says such pricing reform is required to reduce both financial...

After years of looming power shortages, Ontario faces instead a periodic problem of excess electricity supply at the same time that new generation capacity is being added. Since Ontario government agencies that purchase power have long-term, fixed-price contracts with many electricity...

Electricity prices should fully link the consumer price to peak-period generation costs, environmental costs and the high cost of new generation, according to an expert analysis released today by the C.D. Howe Institute. The author says such pricing reform is required to reduce both financial...

This paper reviews the existing empirical evidence on the efficacy of the tort system and alternatives to it. The evidence is evaluated against three normative goals: deterrence, corrective justice, and distributive justice. Empirical evidence relating to five major categories of accidents is...