Coordination and Competition in the Electricity Pool of England & Wales

In 1990, the electricity supply industry in England and Wales has been deregulated in a most progressive way, attracting academic, practical and political attention worldwide. The experiences in England and Wales will be of major importance for reform prospects in other countries. In this work the author stresses central coordination, the development of competition and their mutual interaction as the critical aspects of the deregulation. These aspects are extensively described, analysed and assessed from a micro-economic perspective, attempting to answer the question whether the introduction of competition has been successful. From the new structure as set out in England and Wales important lessons can be learned for other countries currently restructuring the electricity supply industry. The Dutch electricity sector, where major reform is planned, is brought as a case-study to illustrate these lessons. This work, whose author is appointed at the university of Freiburg (Germany), is of special interest for politicians, sector executives and economists, who are concerned with electricity deregulation.