The impact of electricity privatisation on the British energy markets
Reference Number
R000233766
Title
The impact of electricity privatisation on the British energy markets
Status
Completed
Energy Categories
Other Cross-Cutting Technologies or Research(Energy system analysis)
Other Power and Storage Technologies(Electric power conversion)
Other Cross-Cutting Technologies or Research(Environmental, social and economic impacts)
Other Power and Storage Technologies(Electric power conversion)
Other Cross-Cutting Technologies or Research(Environmental, social and economic impacts)
Research Types
Basic and strategic applied research
Science and Technology Fields
SOCIAL SCIENCES (Economics and Econometrics)
UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation
Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Environmental dimensions)
Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Policy and regulation)
Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Other sociological economical and environmental impact of energy)
Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Policy and regulation)
Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Other sociological economical and environmental impact of energy)
Principal Investigator
Professor DMG Newbery
Economics
University of Cambridge
Economics
University of Cambridge
Award Type
Standard
Funding Source
ESRC
Start Date
07 December 1992
End Date
06 December 1996
Duration
48 months
Total Grant Value
£103,720
Industrial Sectors
No relevance to Underpinning Sectors
Region
East of England
Programme
ESRC Energy
Web Site
Objectives
Objectives not supplied
Abstract
Under public ownership, British Coal provided the bulk of fuel to the electricity industry, with much of the balance coming from nuclear power. Since privatisation, many gas-fired power stations have been ordered, reducing the demand for coal, and since the generators will be free to import cheaper foreign coal and oil after the expiry of the vesting contracts with British Coal, British Coal feltforced to plan for a large reduction in its output, with consequent pit closures and redundancies.This project will examine the behaviour of electricity generators, both established companies and new entrants,in buying fuel and selling electricity. It will build on previous work by the investigators which used calibrated models to examine the significant market power of the two largest generators. The models will be extended to take account of long-term contracts to buy fuel and sell electricity. They will be used to study the fuel mix and the price of electricity that might result from different market structures in generation and in the fuel industries. Predictions of this type could help in deciding future policy for the energy sector, in particular the possible effects of introducingmore competition into generation and coal mining.
Data
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Projects
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Publications
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Added to Database
05/11/09
