Market Failures in Real-Time Metering

Policies to promote real-time metering (RTM) require more than showing benefits from more timely responses to variations in cost. They require positive externalities to imply that too few meters would be installed through private transactions. RTM presents no systematic externalities when utilities must serve peak period users, and may present negative externalities under some conditions. Positive externalities are likely when electricity is rationed through blackouts. RTM may or may not increase welfare when peak period wholesale markets are not competitive; a prohibition on RTM might be appropriate in such situations even if metering itself were costless.     

Regulating an Externality-Generating Utility Environmental Taxes Under Limited Information

Global warming is currently an important item on most nationalenvironmental agendas. In many countries, coal-fired electricity generatingstations represent an important source of greenhouse gases. We examinehow regulations to curb emissions affect public utility pricing regulationwhen regulators act non-cooperatively. We show that, when there is limitedinformation on fixed abatement costs, an environmental regulator prefersan emission tax over an output tax or a lump sum environmental tax. Thepublic utility regulator prefers the lump sum tax regime.     

Capacity,sustainability, and the community benefits of municipal utility ownership in the United States

ABSTRACT

Most literature on utility sustainability focuses on internal operations; this misses the role that utilities could play within a community. This study measures the impact of municipal ownership of water and electric utilities on the sustainability policymaking of local governments. I find that municipalities with government-owned water utilities adopt more sustainability measures than those with investor-owned service. Similarly, municipally-owned electric utilities have higher levels of energy sustainability in the community, but not in government operations. The utilities provide fiscal and technical capacity to municipalities. Interdepartmental coordination also strongly predicts sustainability policymaking. This study brings potential community benefits to the discussion of private investment in public service delivery.     

Price-Cost Margins and Profit Rates in New Zealand Electricity Distribution Networks Since 1994: the Cost of Light Handed Regulation

From 1994 to 2003, New Zealands corporatized electricity lines networks operated with no industry regulator, but under the spotlight of mandatory information disclosure. As a result there exists a large body of detailed, audited and publicly available accounting data on the financial performance of these businesses. Using that data, this paper finds that price-cost margins have widened substantially since deregulation. We estimate the extent to which light-handed regulation has allowed profits to exceed the levels which would have been acceptable under the old rate-of-return regulatory framework, and find that the answer is about $200 million per year, on an ongoing basis.We thank colleagues at Victoria University, and two anonymous referees for this journal, for constructive comments on this paper. Any remaining errors are entirely our responsibility.JEL classification: D21; K23; L11; L43; L51     

运用经济杠杆促进错峰调荷——安徽省峰谷电价分析

阐述了安徽省峰谷电价的实施背景、方案的主要内容和创新特点,2004年上半年的实际执行情况及取得的效果。结合安徽省实际情况,对下一阶段如何优化峰谷电价方案、进一步发挥价格杠杆作用提出了建议。     

大朝山水电站经营环境系统分析

本文首先分析了我国电力发展的现状及影响电力经营的相关政策;然后根据社会经济的发展,对电力的需求进行了深入剖析;最后,对公司经营的主要优势和劣势,面临的主要机遇和挑战,进行了分析总结,为公司未来发展提出了战略建议。     

中国电力产业规制效果的实证研究

本文利用1978--2005年相关数据对中国电力规制效果进行了全面的实证检验。计量结果表明，改革开放以来，明确的规制框架、独立规制机构和不断成熟的规制对象在统计意义上显著地提高了电力产业总量和效率，降低了价格水平和垄断利润．但在改善服务质量方面尚未发挥有效作用。总体看，中国电力产业规制效果是明显的．良好的规制设计不仅在理论上有利于电力产业提高绩效，在实践中也是电力产业绩效改善的推动力。     

A STRUCTURAL RISK‐NEUTRAL MODEL FOR PRICING AND HEDGING POWER DERIVATIVES

We develop a structural risk‐neutral model for energy market modifying along several directions the approach introduced in Aïd et al. In particular, a scarcity function is introduced to allow important deviations of the spot price from the marginal fuel price, producing price spikes. We focus on pricing and hedging electricity derivatives. The hedging instruments are forward contracts on fuels and electricity. The presence of production capacities and electricity demand makes such a market incomplete. We follow a local risk minimization approach to price and hedge energy derivatives. Despite the richness of information included in the spot model, we obtain closed‐form formulae for futures prices and semiexplicit formulae for spread options and European options on electricity forward contracts. An analysis of the electricity price risk premium is provided showing the contribution of demand and capacity to the futures prices. We show that when far from delivery, electricity futures behave like a basket of futures on fuels.     

我国工业化过程与电力消费弹性系数演变过程的相关性

本文首先论述了电力消耗与经济发展过程的一般规律、电力消费弹性系数的演变规律和我国电力消费弹性系数的演变过程,然后分析了我国工业化过程与电力消费弹性系数演变过程的相关性,最后概括了主要结论并且提出了两个需要思考的问题。研究发现,由于我国正处于重工业化时期,电力消费弹性系数明显地大于1,而且第二产业耗费电力能源的比例持续上升。     

可再生能源绿色证书政策的理论研究

可再生能源发电具有的正外部性等特点,需要政府相关机构对其进行价格管制,以保证和促进可再生能源电力的发展。目前主要的管制方法有固定电价政策、竞价上网政策以及可交易的绿色证书政策等。本文从理论的角度对绿色证书政策进行研究,分析了可再生能源发电市场和绿色证书市场的本质和价格的决定问题,阐述了绿色证书政策对资源配置的促进作用以及对绿色证书政策的制约和影响因素。