Refining Regulatory Regimes: Utilities in Europe

As states withdraw from public ownership of utilities, they develop regulations to ensure that private ownership respects the goals of the state in terms of equitable distribution, safe operation, and environmental responsibility. However, these regulations and the utilities they address are not consistent from place to place, due to differences in how the utilities are situation in the business culture, how they are funded, and how they are traditionally administered. In this collection of eight articles, which compare telecommunications, railways and energy utilities of Germany and the UK, contributors consider the impact of the EU, regulatory styles and the influence of utilities upon those who seek to regulate them. They examine institutional changes and the environment in terms of developments in regulatory regimes and the administrative costs of reforming utilities, changing business-regulator relationships, and implementation and refining policy as applied to sustainable energy and the role of the European Court of Justice. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)