Lessons from Power Sector Reform in England and Wales
Author: Robert Bacon Date: 10/1/1995 (PDF, 200KB)
In the power sector reform that started in 1990 in England and Wales, generation was vertically separated from transmission and broken up into three companies. Most of the sector was privatized, and regulation was applied to promote competition and to stop the remaining monopolies from exploiting their advantage. The ultimate goals were to remove the sector from government funding and to reduce prices for consumers through the increased efficiency of private sector operation and the pressure from competition. Although the first objective has been broadly accomplished, the second has yet to be convincingly achieved. Robert Bacon briefly assesses some of the lessons starting to emerge.