Power Loss: The Origins of Deregulation and Restructuring in the American Electric Utility System - Softcover

Hirsh, Richard F.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0262582198 ISBN 13: 9780262582193

Publisher: The MIT Press, 2002

Synopsis

In the late 1990s, the formerly staid and monopolistic electric utility industry entered an era of freewheeling competition and deregulation, allowing American consumers to buy electricity from any company offering it. In this book, Richard F. Hirsh explains how and why this radical restructuring has occurred. Hirsh starts by describing the successful campaign waged by utility managers in the first decade of the twentieth century to protect their industry from competition. The regulated system that emerged had the unanticipated consequence of endowing utility managers with great political and economic power. Seven decades later, a series of largely unanticipated events, including technological stagnation in traditional generating equipment, the 1973 energy crisis, and the rise of the environmental movement, undermined the managers' control of the system. New players, such as academics, environmental advocates, politicians, and potential competitors, wrested control from power company managers by challenging utilities' standing as "natural monopolies" and by questioning whether their firms provided universal benefits. In other words, the once-closed system came under increasing pressure to transform itself. Hirsh follows the flow of power as this transformation occurred. He also examines the relationship between technological change and regulation, showing how innovations such as cogeneration and renewable energy technologies stimulated questions about the value of government oversight of the system. And he shows how the increasing prominence of ideas such as conservation, energy efficiency, and free markets helped propel the system toward open competition. Though the new electric utility system is still in its infancy, Hirsh's perceptive account of its birth will help readers think more rationally about its future.

About this title

About the Author

Richard F. Hirsh is Professor of History and of Science and Technology Studies at Virginia Tech.

Review

Insightful, thoughtful, and understandable, Power Loss explores the origins of the changes with a historical perspective. A must-read for anyone trying to understand what is happening to the American electric utility industry. The principles and framework of technological and social systems used by the author reveal that the story of this industry has broader implications than just to the making of electricity. This book makes a lot of pieces fit together.

―Carl J. Weinberg, Chair, Weinberg Associates and former Manager of Research and Development, Pacific Gas and Electric Company

For history buffs and policy wonks, Hirsh delivers an absorbing story of the changing US electricity sector. Power Loss provides a well-researched map of the technology and policy trails that underpin today's industry reforms.

―Dr. Jan Hamrin, Executive Director, Center for Resource Solutions

Edition details

• Publisher: The MIT Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0262582198
• ISBN 13: 9780262582193
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 418