Public Utility and the Low-Carbon Future

August 2015
Citation:
45
ELR 10788
Issue
8
Author
William Boyd

Substantial reductions in global power sector emissions will be needed by midcentury to avoid significant disruption of the climate system. Achieving these reductions will require greatly increased levels of financing, technological innovation, and policy reform. In the United States, the scale and complexity of the overall challenge have raised important questions regarding prevailing regulatory and business models, with much scrutiny directed at the traditional practice of public utility regulation. Recognizing the many valid criticisms leveled against public utility regulation and the important questions raised about the viability of traditional utility business models, particularly in the face of substantial growth in distributed energy resources, this Article argues that a revitalized and expanded notion of public utility has a critical role to play in efforts to decarbonize the power sector in the United States.

William Boyd is an Associate Professor, University of Colorado Law School and a Fellow, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute.

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Public Utility and the Low-Carbon Future

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