INSTITUTIONAL AND PROGRAMMATIC SUGGESTIONS FOR SATISFYING PUBLIC-POLICY RESPONSIBILITIES IN A RETAIL COMPETITIVE ELECTRIC INDUSTRY

The emergence of retail competition in the US electric power industry places at risk various environmental and social programmes such as dem and side management, low income programmes and renewable energy, This paper presents institutional and programmatic suggestions for satisfyi ng these kinds of public policy responsibilities in a disintegrated in dustry, Suggestions include customer owned electricity franchises, ele ctricity facility siting marketplaces, electric industry foresight cou ncils, model systems programmes, integrated social services programmes , collaborative electric services programmes, ISO standards and portfo lio standards, These recommendations would be funded by a national tra nsmission charge, a state level distribution charge and franchise leve l sales taxes, to be paid by transmission organizations, distribution organizations and electricity consumers, respectively. Copyright (C) 1 997 Elsevier Science Ltd.