A thoroughly updated introduction to the current issues and challenges facing managers and administrators in the investor and publicly owned utility industry, this engaging volume addresses management concerns in five sectors of the utility industry: electric power, natural gas, water, wastewater systems and public transit.

David B. Smith This is a book about the application of economic theory to a unique form of social control - public utility regulation. A central theme of this work is to examine the role that economics has played in shaping the rationale and direction of regulatory practices. While economic theory has played an important role in the shaping of regulatory policy in the past, it has an even greater potential role to play in the future as the regulatory community grapples with the many challenges of a changing economic environment. This is a very timely and much needed piece of work that can serve as a reference for decision makers who are facing the challeng ing problems of deregulation and competition. This work is comprised of 13 selected articles that guide the reader from an initial discussion of why we decided to regulate certain industries in the first place to a specific analysis of what role economic theory has played in the electric, natural gas, telecommunications, and water indus tries, and whether it should be allowed to play an even more dominant role in the future. The reader is then provided with a more modern version of what economists mean by the concept of natural monopoly and a menu of policy options that will allow society to derive any benefits from such a market structure.

Despite recent corporate scandals, the United States is among the world’s least corrupt nations. But in the nineteenth century, the degree of fraud and corruption in America approached that of today’s most corrupt developing nations, as municipal governments and robber barons alike found new ways to steal from taxpayers and swindle investors. In Corruption and Reform, contributors explore this shadowy period of United States history in search of better methods to fight corruption worldwide today. Contributors to this volume address the measurement and consequences of fraud and corruption and the forces that ultimately led to their decline within the United States. They show that various approaches to reducing corruption have met with success, such as deregulation, particularly “free banking,” in the 1830s. In the 1930s, corruption was kept in check when new federal bureaucracies replaced local administrations in doling out relief. Another deterrent to corruption was the independent press, which kept a watchful eye over government and business. These and other facets of American history analyzed in this volume make it indispensable as background for anyone interested in corruption today.

A Practical Guide to the Retail Rate Setting Process for Regulated Electric and Natural Gas Utilities. This book explains how the traditional rate-setting process is commonly done for energy utilities. This book includes a discussion of revenue requirement, rate base, cost of capital, expenses, revenues, rate-making objectives, cost of service studies, rate design, the rate case process, tariff policies, metering, service quality and other types of cases affecting rates. The book concludes with a numerical example showing the calculation steps from revenue requirement to rate design.