Economic Regulation - The Lights Are Still On: A View from the Inside

Abstract

State utility regulators recently expressed uncertainty about the meaning of the public interest concept as it applies to utility services. The article analyzes the technological, political, policy and economic factors contributing to this uncertainty and urges that regulatory theory must acknowledge a paradigm shift brought on by the re-emergence of oligopoly market structure in utility industries.

Keywords::

• public interest
• regulation
• utilities
• oligopoly