Electricity deregulation effects

Safety is widely recognized to be a paramount concern in the nuclear power industry. Currently, extensive changes are taking place in the U.S. nuclear industry due to economic deregulation of electricity. Therefore, it is important to understand the potential effects of electricity deregulation on safety. The purpose of this book is to shed light upon this issue. 

It is reasonable to believe that the effects of economic deregulation of electricity generation will be seen across abroad spectrum of safety-related areas in the U.S. nuclear power industry. The objective of this book is to provide a comprehensive overview of those consequences of electricity deregulation in the U.S. that have the potential to affect the risk of nuclear power plants. In particular, we were interested in the effects of deregulation on ... 

ABS has two advantages. First, ABS can represent CAS without resorting to inappropriate analytical models at the same time, it can enable predictions of the desirabihty of different pohcy options. North (2000) developed a series of ABSs to explore pricing and varions levels of competition with deregulated electric utilities. The simulations addressed the effects of price swings for natural gas, such as those that would follow a pipeline interruption the number of companies needed for truly competitive markets and the identification of companies colluding to drive np electricity prices. 

Electrical network operators are thus seeking for effective and economic technical solutions of failure protection by means of modifications to the network cormection pattern and less straining modes of operation, but stiU competitive in the deregulated market of electricity production and transmission. The identification of these solutions entails a thorough and systematic analysis of the electrical network and its response to failures. 

We begin this chapter with a brief overview of the concept of economic deregulation, as implemented both in the U.S. electricity industry and in other industries. We then discuss the approach taken in this book to understanding the effects of deregulation on nuclear power safety. In particular, our approach rests on a detailed review of how economic deregulation has affected safety in three other industries with important similarities to the U.S. nuclear power industry—namely, the U.S. air and rail industries, and the nuclear power industry in the United Kingdom (U.K.). 

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (1999a), Considering the Effects of Utility Deregulation, Washington, D.C. 

William S. Raughley (1999), The Effects of Deregulation of the Electric Power Industry on the Nuclear Plant Offsite Power System An Evaluation, Washington, D.C., U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

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