Our study deals with the process of beta estimation and focuses on companies which are subject to European network regulation. Our most important conclusions are: (1) Sudden beta increases or decreases occur that often last only short periods of time and may therefore cause a significant...

Monopoly regulated utilities operate under a duty to serve - they must provide service on a non-discriminatory basis to all who request it within their state-sanctioned monopoly territory. As climate change alters the conditions of the natural world, utilities will find themselves in the...

The measurement of fuel poverty is critical for judgements about the significance of the problem and the design of policies to address it. Reducing fuel poverty has been a government objective in the UK for many years, and is generally seen through the lens of the government’s official fuel...

Services of general interest (SGI) are a key component of the EU economy, accounting for 26% of GDP and 30% of employment within the EU. They cover economic and noneconomic activities alike. They are to be distinguished from services of general economic interest (SGEI), which are economic...

Abstract: In the last decade, three interacting technological developments have revolutionized the production of natural gas resulting in a much expanded supply and much lower price. These technologies are hydraulic fracturing, directional drilling, and the worldwide build-out of liquefied...

There is no gainsaying that energy enables growth in both developing and developed economy contexts. The innovations that lead to (i) the roll-out of long-distance energy networks operated by vertically-integrated utilities as a means of delivering affordable and reliable energy, and (ii) viable...

A decade into the transition, many of the successor states of the former Soviet Union (FSU) continue to use energy sector quasi-fiscal activities (QFAs), especially low energy prices and the toleration of payment arrears, to provide large implicit and untargeted subsidies. These activities...

In setting the allowable rate of return of public utilities, U.S. regulatory agencies and the courts continue to rely on the standard discounted-cash-flow (DCF) method based on the Gordon-Miller-Modigliani model of share valuation under constant growth - a model which ignores personal taxes....

Householders' satisfaction and engagement with the retail energy market has generated considerable debate, this paper provides the first academic assessment of the situation for micro and small business (MSB) energy customers. We find that, while energy brokers are central to MSBs switching...