Power Industry Competition, Reengineering, and Globalization

Measurement support for the U. S. electric-power industry in the era of deregulation, with focus on electrical measurements for transmission and distribution

“…This action was soon followed by the deregulation of the natural gas industry by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), permitting more choices for local gas utilities and large gas customers. [15,16].…”

“…In fact, the industry has been described as currently residing in an undefined "twilight zone" between a regulated monopoly and a fully competitive state [15]. This mixed state is reflected in the following combination of requirements: the utilities must still provide electricity to all customers; but they must also provide transmission and distribution access to independent power producers and competitors.…”

“…Economic efficiency of the provider: The development of highly efficient gas-turbine generators, combined with relatively inexpensive sources of natural gas [15], has led to an end of the economies of scale that the utilities have relied upon for many decades [29]. Previously, it was prohibitively expensive for a private company to generate a moderate amount of electricity, when compared to the cost per kilowatt-hour of electricity produced in the gigantic power plants of the utilities.…”