Power Switch: Energy regulatory governance in the twenty-first century

Power Switch: Energy regulatory governance in the twenty-first century

For the summer issue of optimumonline, we would like to feature a book by G. Bruce Doern and Monica Gattinger, published in the latter part of 2003 by The University of Toronto Press.

Power Switch is a critical examination of the changing nature of energy regulation governance with a particular focus on Canada in the larger contexts of the new policies and new North American markets. The book examines the complex system of rule making that often collides with environmental regulation.

The table of contents of the book is presented below.

Table of Contents

Preface

Abbreviations

Introduction

• Key Themes
• The Energy Policy and Political Context: The U.S. Bush Energy Plan and Federal Liberal Energy Policy
• Energy Regulatory Governance: The Nature of Energy Regulation, Regulatory Regimes, and Regulatory Institutions
• Structure and Organization

PART 1: HISTORY, FRAMEWORK, AND GLOBAL CONTEXT

Canadian Energy Policy and Regulation in Historical Context

• The Five Imperatives
• The Rich Fuel Endowment: The Problem of Too Many Choices
• Dependence on U.S. Continental Markets 23 Divided Political Jurisdiction
• Regional/Spatial Realities and Producer-Consumer Tensions
• Energy, Environment, and Sustainable Development
• Key Historical Periods
• Second World War to 1973: Regulatory Nation- and Province-Building
• 1974 to 1984: The Energy Crises and Government Intervention
• The Mid-1980s to the Early 2000s: Energy Deregulation, Free Trade, and Sustainable Development
• Conclusions

Analysing the Power Switch: Factors and Framework

Key Factors for Change: A Closer Look The Bush Administration's NEP and Alternative to Kyoto Ideology and Incentive-Based Regulation Economic Ideas, Technical Change, and the Reduced Monopoly Rationale NRCan, Sustainable Development, and Kyoto Climate Change Commitments Free Trade Commitments and Continental Energy and Industry Markets The Reconfiguration of Core Energy Interests Energy Regulatory Governance in the Twenty-First Century: Interacting Regimes and the Regulation of Energy As an Essential Service Networked Industry The Sectoral Energy Regulatory Regime The Horizontal Energy Regulatory Regime Interacting Networked Regimes: The Four Key Themes in the Power Switch Conclusions

U.S. Influences: FERC and Alternative Energy Regulatory Models

• FERC Policy and Regulatory Developments
• The Electricity Industry
• The Natural Gas Industry
• Impact on Canada
• The Electricity Industry
• The Natural Gas Industry
• Conclusions

PART 2: ENERGY REGULATORY INSTITUTIONS AND INTER-REGIME CHANGE

The National Energy Board

• Origins of the NEB
• The NEB Mandate and Key Changes since 1985
• The NEB As Incentive Regulator: Negotiated Pipeline-Toll Incentive Settlements and Export Review Processes
• The NEB As Joint Environmental and Safety Regulator
• Conclusions

The Ontario Energy Board

• The OEB and the New Competitive Ontario Regime
• The 1998 Mandate Change and the New OEB
• The OEB As Incentive Regulator
• The OEB and Horizontal Environmental Regulation
• Conclusions

The Alberta Energy and Utilities Board

• Mandate and Key Changes during the Last Decade
• Leadership, Representation, and Core Culture
• Incentive Regulation: Negotiated Settlement Processes
• Inter-regime Influences: Environmental Regulation
• Conclusions

Energy and Competition Regulation: Towards Workable Competition

• Competition and the Regulation of Competition
• The Competition Bureau and Industry Sectoral Regulators
• Joint Competition Regulation in Energy
• Ontario
• Alberta
• Nova Scotia
• Inter-regime Accountability: The California Crisis and Transitional Imperatives
• Conclusions

Energy and Environmental Regulation: Regulatory 'Stacking' in the Climate Change Era

• Traditional 'End of Pipe' Environmental Regulation
• Sustainable Development and the New NRCan-Environment Canada Regulatory Relationship
• Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol, and Global Regulation
• Environment-Energy Regulatory Stacking: Command and Control and Incentive Regulation
• Conclusions

Conclusions

• Key Themes
• Less Regulation, More Rules, and Opaque Regimes 201 Managed Competition for a Still Essential Service Industry
• Energy-Environment Regulatory Stacking
• The New Energy
• The Bush Energy Agenda and the Chretien Liberals' Response

References

Index