Electricity Market Institutions and Governance

This book project focuses on new and emerging alternatives for users of the electric grid to participate in and govern this system. For much of its history, the electric grid and industry have largely been dominated by incumbent utility companies that have been privately owned, and until the 1990s, were mostly vertically-integrated. As a consequence of both new technologies and ongoing efforts to restructure electricity markets, local alternatives to the electric grid are rapidly emerging, such as: (1) grid independence and defection; (2) community solar and peer-to-peer electricity sharing; and (3) the involvement of local governments in the energy system, such as in community choice aggregation. This book will examine the potential and prospects for these local alternatives relative to existing institutions and governance of the electric grid.