In 1996, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) promulgated Rule 888, which mandated the deregulation and restructuring of the United States electric utility industry. One of the major environmental concerns of electrical restructuring in California was the belief that renewable energy...

A considerable literature has extolled the virtues of transitioning away from rate-of-return regulation for infrastructure-intensive industries. I find that for a large-scale transmission network like the U.S. natural gas pipeline system, transmission capacity under rate-of-return regulation may...

This paper aims at highlighting the Commission's approach towards the relation between sector specific regulation and general competition law, especially concerning energy markets and the road to Internal Market objective.We firstly present Trinko case, in order to focus on two crucial and...

This paper analyses the foundations of efficient-firm regulation (implemented in Chile for almost two decades), and the formulas that are used to set the prices of water/sanitation companies, electric power distributors and the dominant phone companies. We show that efficient-firm regulation...

In this article we chart the development of competition and deregulation of the British retail energy markets, explaining the evolution of competitive constraints when consumers are introduced to supplier choice for the first time. In the context of rising real energy prices for consumers, and...

Das Thema »Energiepreise« ist brisant wie seit langer Zeit nicht mehr. Hohe Energiepreise schaden den Verbrauchern und der Wirtschaft. Die Energieunternehmen verweisen auf hohe Steuer- und Abgabenlasten sowie auf die Preisexplosion auf den Welterdölmärkten und die teuren Maßnahmen zur...

In the past two decades privatisation and liberalisation of network industries providing services of general economic interest (SGEI), have been particularly significant in the European Union. Wide variations around a common policy trend can, however, be observed across countries and sectors. We...

Das Thema »Energiepreise« ist brisant wie seit langer Zeit nicht mehr. Hohe Energiepreise schaden den Verbrauchern und der Wirtschaft. Die Energieunternehmen verweisen auf hohe Steuer- und Abgabenlasten sowie auf die Preisexplosion auf den Welterdölmärkten und die teuren Maßnahmen zur...

The recent proposals for the acquisition of Endesa by Gas Natural and E.On has raised a considerable debate. One of the interesting issues under discussion is whether the resulting entity will be too large for the market or not, in terms of its potential exercise of market power and, in this...