Energy Law
The supply of a reliable, low-cost, clean energy supply for the United States is a key determinant of current and future prosperity. Perhaps as a result, electricity suppliers are among the most heavily regulated of large firms. In this course, students will acquire a basic understanding of the electricity supply system, of rate based regulation of electric utilities, and of deregulated wholesale electricity markets. We will also interrogate the role of siting and cost recovery in development of a workable transmission grid. The course will then focus on various attempts at reform of both rate-regulated and wholesale market-based structures. In particular, we will examine various attempts to strengthen incentives for utility investment in energy efficiency. Finally, students will be familiarized with various approaches to subsidization of renewable energy. Throughout, the course will focus on the sometime cooperative, sometimes competing, but ever evolving federal and state roles in regulating the supply of electricity.