Energy in a Competitive Market

Edited by Lester C. Hunt, Professor and Head of Economics and Finance, University of Portsmouth, UK

'. . . These essays are solidly researched and documented, carefully expounded theoretically and empirically, and offer the reader new insights into energy market issues and problems of both the past and the future. . . This collection of essays is an excellent festschrift in honor of the substantial energy contributions of Colin Robinson over many years. Because of the essays' primary focus on UK and European matters, they may have more appeal to readers in those locations. Yet the competitive and regulatory themes advanced to improve performance in utilities may resonate well with North American readers interested in efficiencies and effectiveness, particularly after the August 2003 blackout, which affected a wide swath of the US and Canada. The articles on field cluster development, energy demand, and emissions trends and abatement are clearly of interest to readers on energy topics, regardless of their geographic location, for these subjects will be with us for some time to come. The collection constitutes a valuable contribution and advancement to the state of our knowledge in all the subjects addressed.'

• Contents: Introduction 1. Electricity and Gas Regulation in Great Britain: The End of an Era 2. Yardstick Competition and Comparative Performance Measures in Practice 3. Yardstick Competition and Efficiency Benchmarking in Electricity Distribution 4. The Swiss Electricity Industry and the Regulation of Distribution Prices 5. Efficiency and Performance in the Gas Industry 6. UK Coal in Competitive Energy Markets 7. Economists and the Oil Industry: Facts versus Analysis, the Case of Vertical Integration 8. The Economics of Field Cluster Developments in the UK Continental Shelf 9. Modelling Underlying Energy Demand Trends 10. Long-run Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Environmental Kuznets Curves: Different Pathways to Development? 11. UK Emissions Targets: Modelling Incentive Mechanisms Index