Electricity regulators often mandate increasing-block pricing (IBP)—i.e., marginal price increases with the customer's average daily usage—to protect low-income households from rising costs. IBP has no cost basis, raising a classic conflict between efficiency and distributional goals....

We analyze optimal policy when consumers of energy-using durables undervalue energy costs relative to their private optima. First, there is an Internality Dividend from Externality Taxes: aside from reducing externalities, they also offset distortions from underinvestment in energy efficiency....

En este ensayo, se concluye la necesidad y urgencia de llevar a cabo un paquete de medidas, preferiblemente de forma consensuada en un pacto de estado, para paliar o eliminar los graves problemas del sector y cumplir, a nivel satisfactorio, con los tres principios aceptados de seguridad de...

Many countries use substantial public funds to subsidize reductions in negative externalities. However, such subsidies create asymmetric incentives because increases in externalities remain unpriced. This paper examines implications of such asymmetric subsidy incentives by using a regression...

El propósito de este artículo es hacer un análisis de la seguridad en el suministro de electricidad en Colombia, considerando el nuevo esquema del Cargo por Confiabilidad, modelo adoptado en Colombia para garantizar las inversiones en generación. Para esto se analiza la diferencia entre...

Congestion management schemes have taken a prominent place in current electricity market design discussions. In this paper, the implications of establishing zonal pricing in Europe are analyzed with regard to potential zonal delimitations and associated effects on total system costs. Thereby, a...

US climate policy is unfolding under the Clean Air Act. Mobile source and construction permitting regulations are in place. Most important, EPA and the states will determine the form and stringency of the regulations for power plants. Various approaches would create an implicit price on emitting...

Natural gas is playing an important role in Germany, Europe, and around the globe as a bridge fuel in the transition toward lower-carbon energy systems. In this context, natural gas price development is very important, particularly in relation to its competitor, coal. Up until a few years ago,...

Die "Energiestrategie 2030" setzt den Weg Brandenburgs in Richtung erneuerbarer Energien konsequent fort. Die am 28. Februar vom Kabinett der Landesregierung verabschiedete Strategie sieht den schrittweisen Ausstieg aus den fossilen Technologien hin zu einer vollständigen Stromerzeugung aus...

We discuss the implications of two price zones, i.e. one northern and southern bidding area, on the German electricity market. In the northern zone, continuous capacity additions with low variable costs cause large regional supply surpluses in the market dispatch while conventional capacity...