An Electric Revolution, Chapter Six: A Primer on Reform
Throughout most of the past century the main players in utility regulation have been the utilities’ own attorneys and lobbyists, state public utility commissions and state elected officials. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regulates the transmission and wholesale sale of electricity across state lines and monitors and investigates energy markets. One of the nation’s largest industries, electric utilities have immense political and economic leverage. As a result, electricity issues are often shrouded in detail, rhetoric and complications that baffle the general public.
The plain fact is that the electricity business is terrifically complex. By its nature, it is an extraordinarily capital- and technology-intensive, politically constrained enterprise where even the best-intended proposition can get picked apart with caveats, exceptions and reminders of previous plans gone wrong. For example, the federal Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 offered a number of excellent policy choices. But while it encouraged states to make changes, it didn’t hold them accountable. As a result, relatively little progress has been made in the absence of coherent leadership.
Indeed, prior to the 2008 election both major political parties stated that transforming the electricity system was essential to the nation’s future. Alas, with the exception of the marginal Smart Grid Investment Grant Program, Washington has found itself engaged in other more partisan matters.
