Unbundling of vertically integrated utilities has become an integral element in the regulation of network industries and has been implemented in many jurisdictions. The idea of separating the network, as the natural monopoly, from downstream retailing, which may be exposed to competition, is...

We analyze the treatment and impact of idiosyncratic or firm-specific risk in regulation. Regulatory authorities regularly ignore firm-specific characteristics, such as size or asset ages, implying different risk exposure in incentive regulation. In contrast, it is common to apply only a single...

Electricity transmission pricing and transmission grid expansion have received increasing regulatory and analytical attention in recent years. Since electricity transmission is a very special service with unusual characteristics, such as loop flows, the approaches have been largely tailor-made...

In this paper, we apply the theory of nodal pricing to a particularly urgent issue of energy and environmental economics: the integration of wind power in electricity systems. We use a nodal pricing model to analyze the impact of German wind power production on the North Western European power...

We propose a difference-in-differences (DiD) approach to estimate the impact of incentives on cost reduction. We show theoretically, and estimate empirically, that German electricity distribution system operators (DSOs) incur higher costs when subject to a lower powered regulation mechanism. The...

The informationally simple approach to incentive regulation applies mechanisms that translate the regulator's objective function into the firm's profit-maximizing objective. These mechanisms come in two forms, one based on subsidies/taxes, the other based on constraints/price caps. In spite of a...

To date, the distributive implications of incentive regulation on electricity transmission networks have not been explicitly studied in the literature. More specifically, the parameters that a regulator might use to achieve distributive efficiency under price-cap regulation have not yet been...

The informationally simple approach to incentive regulation applies mechanisms that translate the regulator’s objective function into the firm’s profit-maximizing objective. These mechanisms come in two forms, one based on subsidies/taxes,the other based on constraints/ price caps. In spite...

This article examines the ability of the electrical grid to support trade in real power in the northeast U.S. power market. The authors estimate the effect on prices in New England (NEPOOL) and New York (NYPP) of greater exports from Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, and northern...

There is an intense debate regarding the best way to attract investment for the long-term expansion of an electricity transmission network. We study three hypotheses: the long-term financial-transmission-right hypothesis; the incentive-regulation hypothesis; and the market-power hypothesis. The...