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Introduction

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Abstract:
Europe is liberalising electricity in accordance with the European Commission's Electricity Directives. Different countries have responded differently, notably in the extent of restructuring, treatment of mergers, market power, and vertical unbundling. While Britain and Norway have achieved effective competition, others like Germany, Spain and France are still struggling to deal with dominant and sometimes vertically integrated companies. The Netherlands offers an interesting intermediate case, where good economic analysis has sometimes been thwarted by legalistic interpretations. Investment under the new Emissions Trading system could further transform the electricity industry but may be hampered by slow progress in liberalising European gas markets.

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Energy Specializations: Electricity – Markets and Prices ; Electricity – Policy and Regulation; Energy and the Economy – Energy as a Productive Input; Energy and the Economy –Economic Growth and Energy Demand; Energy and the Economy – Resource Endowments and Economic Performance; Energy and the Economy – Energy Shocks and Business Cycles

JEL Codes: Q41: Energy: Demand and Supply; Prices, Q42: Alternative Energy Sources, D44: Auctions, D47: Market Design, L11: Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms

Keywords: Electricity markets, EU, liberalization

DOI: 10.5547/ISSN0195-6574-EJ-Vol26-NoSI-1

Published in Volume 26, Special Issue of the bi-monthly journal of the IAEE's Energy Economics Education Foundation.

 

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