In 2000-2001 the California energy crisis cost billions of dollars and the blackouts endangered lives. The causes of the crisis were contested along partisan lines. Republicans (and neo-classical economists) argued that “a perfect storm” of increased demand and reduced supply triggered the...

This paper analyzes the causes, responses, and consequences of the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident (March 2011) by comparing these with Three Mile Island (March 1979) and Chernobyl (April 1986). We identify three generic modes of organizational coordination: modular, vertical, and...

Global warming and the acute domestic air pollution in China have necessitated transition to a sustainable energy system away from coal-dominated energy production. Through a systematic review of the national policy documents, this study investigates the policy mix adopted by the Chinese...

Should taxpayers finance government entry into an increasingly competitive, but technologically volatile, business market? The city of Philadelphia has just released a blueprint to provide a taxpayer-backed city-wide wi-fi service, under the rationale that broadband should be treated as a vital...

The plan announced last week in Philadelphia to create a government-owned wireless broadband network isn't needed, is economically and technologically unsound and will put the city's taxpayers at great financial risk. The Wireless Philadelphia Business Plan promises (1) ubiquitous broadband...

Real life applications of Yardstick Regulation frequently refer to historical cost data. While Yardstick Regulation cuts the link between fi rms own costs and prices firms may charge in a static setting, it does not in a dynamic setting where historical cost data is used. A fi rm can influence...

We extend the theory of peak-load pricing by considering that the production with different technologies can be adjusted within their capacity at different speeds. In the established analysis, all production decisions can be made after the random variables realize. In our setting, in contrast,...

Das Land Berlin hat sich verpflichtet, bis 2045 Klimaneutralität zu erreichen. Die Wärmeerzeugung ist der größte Treiber der Energienachfrage und verursacht fast die Hälfte der CO2-Emissionen in Berlin. Derzeit beruht die Wärmeversorgung überwiegend auf Erdgas, sowohl in der dezentralen...

Due to potential abuse of the market power at wholesale and retail market level for natural gas the Federal Cartel Office in Germany prohibited further forward integration of gas importing firms with retail incumbents from 2005/2006 to 2010. The Authority argued that the very few dominant gas...

Due to potential abuse of the market power at wholesale and retail market level for natural gas the Federal Cartel Office in Germany prohibited further forward integration of gas importing firms with retail incumbents from 2005/2006 to 2010. The Authority argued that the very few dominant gas...