Insights from world experience in regulating electricity

Abstract

In the last few years, there are many good and bad things happened in electricity deregulation. This keynote speech identifies lessons for countries that are considering or implementing power sector reform. This speech also assesses whether power crisis could have been avoided with better market design and management. The California crisis provides useful examples of what can happen if goals and constraints are not clear and if the regulatory agency does not have the authority to fix problems. California's power crisis is a failure of market design, rather than a failure of deregulation. The key characteristics of a good regulatory commission will also be discussed.