Economics Lecture Series
Fall 2008
The Price of Power
The Electricity Restructuring Debate:
What Have We Learned?
Electricity markets are changing, but at what cost, and for whose benefit? The last decade has witnessed significant transformations of wholesale electricity markets, both in the U.S. and abroad. Many electric utilities have been broken up and replaced by auction-based wholesale markets. But what does this mean for consumers and shareholders? How do these new markets perform? Are they efficient and competitive? Are they better, or worse, than the structuresthey replaced? This lecture series offers an opportunity to hear several sides to this debate, from experts actively involved in analysis of these markets.
Sponsored by the Walter Krause Economics Lecture Fund and the Reed College economics department.
William W. Hogan
“Energy Policy for Electricity Markets”
Thursday, October 9, 7:30 p.m., Psychology 105
William W. Hogan, Raymond Plank Professor of Global Energy Policy at Harvard University, is the research director of the Harvard Electricity Policy Group, which explores the issues involved in the transition to a more competitive electricity market. While at Stanford University, Hogan founded the Energy Modeling Forum, and he has also served as president of the International Association for Energy Economics.
Lester B. Lave
“Electricity Deregulation:
Has It Worked? Can It Work?”
Thursday, November 6, 7:30 p.m., Vollum lounge
Lester B. Lave ’60 is University Professor and Higgins Professor of Economics at Carnegie Mellon University, with appointments in the business school, engineering school and the public policy school. Lave is also the director of the Carnegie Mellon Green Design Initiative and co-director of the Carnegie Mellon Electricity Industry Center.
Frank Wolak
“Why the United States Has Yet to Benefit from Electricity Industry Restructuring (And What Can Be Done to Change This)”
Thursday, November 13, 7:30 p.m., Psychology 105
Frank Wolak is Holbrook Working Professor of Commodity Price Studies in the economics department at Stanford University, chairman of the Market Surveillance Committee of the Independent System Operator for the electricity supply industry of California, visiting scholar at the University of California Energy Institute, and research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Severin Borenstein
“Asking the Wrong Questions: Lessons from a Decade of Electricity Restructuring”
Thursday, November 20, 7:30 p.m., Vollum lounge
Severin Borenstein is E.T. Grether Professor of Business Administration and Public Policy at the Haas School of Business, director of the University of California Energy Institute, and co-director of the institute’s Center for the Study of Energy Markets.