Posted: 08/15/2003
NCPA Electricity Expert Available
August 15, 2003 – One of the central issues involved in the black out is that the transmission grid is essentially unchanged in 30 years with little new investment beyond upgrades. This is increasingly incompatible with the growth of efficiency and competition in power markets, reflects the fact that (unlike gas pipelines), states have authority to block construction of lines that will benefit whole regions.
NCPA Adjunct Scholar Robert Michaels is available to discuss this and other issues. Michaels is also a professor of economics at California State University, Fullerton. He writes extensively and consults on deregulation and competition in the electricity and natural gas industries. He has advised state commissions, electric utilities, power marketers, natural gas producers, pipelines, public interest groups, and governments on regulatory and antitrust matters. He has participated in electricity restructuring in California and other states, served as expert witness in utility mergers, and testified before state regulatory agencies, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the U.S. House Commerce Committee.
His writings on competition, market power, deregulation, and a range of restructuring issues have appeared in industry, academic, and legal publications. He has chaired and spoken at numerous conferences on emerging competition and trends in power and transmission markets. He is married to Victoria Michaels and resides in Anaheim, California.