Evolution of Global Electricity Markets

Introduction

Background

A 2006 volume edited by Professor Wolfgang Pfaffenberger and me, titled Electricity Market Reform: An International Perspective,¹ covered the experiences of a number of countries and jurisdictions around the world who had introduced market reform initiatives in their electricity markets. Following the successful experiences of Chile in the 1980s and England and Wales in 1990, the topic was in vogue as countries and many states in the United States were contemplating similar moves.

During the 1990s, European Union, Australia, New Zealand and a number of other countries, states and provinces in Americas and elsewhere introduced market reform initiatives. At the time, there was speculation in the United States for a federal ...