A Shock to the System is a guide to the decisions that will be faced by electricity providers, customers, and policymakers. Produced by a team of analysts at Resources for the Future, this concise and balanced work provides background necessary to understand the increasing role of competition in electricity markets. The authors introduce important concepts and terminology, and offer the history of public policy regarding electricity. They identify the significant proposals for implementing competition, and examine the potential consequences for regulation, industry structure, cost recovery, and the environment.

Climate and energy policy needs to be durable and flexible to be successful, but these two concepts often seem to be in opposition. One venerable institution where both ideas are apparent is the Clean Air Act, first passed by the United States Congress in 1963, with amendments in 1970 and 1990. The Act is a living institution that has been hugely successful in improving the environment. It has programs that reach across the entire economy, regulating various sectors and pollutants in different ways. This illuminating book examines these successes - and failures - with the aim to offer lessons for future climate and energy policymaking in the US at the federal and state level. It provides critical information to legislators, regulators, and scholars interested in understanding environmental policymaking.

Climate and energy policy needs to be durable and flexible to be successful, but these two concepts often seem to be in opposition. One venerable institution where both ideas are apparent is the Clean Air Act, first passed by the United States Congress in 1963, with amendments in 1970 and 1990. The Act is a living institution that has been hugely successful in improving the environment. It has programs that reach across the entire economy, regulating various sectors and pollutants in different ways. This illuminating book examines these successes - and failures - with the aim to offer lessons for future climate and energy policymaking in the US at the federal and state level. It provides critical information to legislators, regulators, and scholars interested in understanding environmental policymaking.