Abstract:
This is one of three business-government cases, developed in conjunction with the Harvard Electricity Policy Group, which explore the complications arising as the US moves toward a less regulated market in the "wheeling" (transmission and sale) of electricity--a development widely regarded as being no less revolutionary than the break-up of AT&T and the advent of competitive long-distance telephone service. Among the questions which arise in this disguised case: Should large utilities, which had historically been highly regulated, suddenly be forced to compete with low-cost power wholesalers? Who would benefit, who would lose, as a result? These cases are provocative both for students of current utility policy and students of general regulatory issues. See also Competing for Electrons: The Public Service Company of New Mexico and the City of Albuquerque (C16-93-1226.0) and The California-Oregon Transmission Project: The Quest for Transmission Access (C16-93-1227.0).
