Theory and empirics suggest that by curbing competition, incumbent electricity companies which used to be and here are referred to as Vertically Integrated Utilities (VIUs), can increase their profitability through combined ownership of generation and transmission and/or distribution networks....

Regulatory investigations by Self-Regulatory organizations (SROs) are usually considered cheaper than investigations by a government. However, in practice, oversight by an SRO is mostly still supplemented by governmental oversight. The government may exert oversight over the SRO itself, a...