Lisbon Conference - Panel II - Managing demand-side economic and political constraints on electricity industry re-structuring processes (15 janvier 2010)

Managing demand-side economic and political constraints on electricity industry re-structuring processes Frank A. WOLAK Department of Economics, Stanford University 1. Economic and political factors constraint electricity industry re-structuring processes. Powerful entities that existed before re-structuring continue to exercise this political clout in the new regime. Former state-owned or privately-owned vertically-integrated geographic monopolies maintain their dominant position in the new regime. Existing regulatory agencies continue to exercise control over market participant behavior even if these actions adversely impact wholesale market efficiency. New market participants find their demands ignored in favor of those by the more politically power incumbent firms. Conflicts