DOCSLIB.ORG

How Do Legal and Regulatory Frameworks of Liberalized Electricity Markets Influence the Promotion of Renewable Energy?

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
How Do Legal and Regulatory Frameworks of Liberalized Electricity Markets Influence the Promotion of Renewable Energy? HOW DO LEGAL AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORKS OF LIBERALIZED ELECTRICITY MARKETS INFLUENCE THE PROMOTION OF RENEWABLE ENERGY? LESSONS FOR AUSTRALIA FROM INTERNATIONAL CASE STUDIES Anne Kallies (ORCID iD 0000-0003-4090-2159) Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy June 2015 Melbourne Law School The University of Melbourne Produced on archival quality paper ABSTRACT The decarbonization of the stationary energy sector is crucial for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Australia and across the world. Renewable energy as alternative means of generating electricity provides a key component of the transition to a low carbon society. Yet, successful transition depends not only on the development of suitable renewable technology, but also on the ability of regulatory frameworks to support and adopt this technology. In Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom, electricity provision is governed by regulatory frameworks, which provides for competitive retail and wholesale electricity markets and regulated electricity networks. This thesis critically examines the capacity of these regulatory frameworks to integrate renewable energy. Drawing on systems conceptions of electricity and ideas of regulatory space, this thesis comparatively assesses the role of law in Australia, UK and Germany in creating and sustaining market solutions for electricity supply, arguing that these systems have operated to the detriment of renewable energy. Legal frameworks have co-developed and therefore ‘fit in’ with fossil fuel-based infrastructure. Hence existing legal frameworks for electricity provision lock-in out-dated generation profiles and institutional frameworks, thereby limiting the uptake of renewable energy and retarding transition to low carbon energy systems. The thesis contends that overcoming this lock-in to promote the transition to a renewable energy-based electricity sector requires targeted regulatory reform. Drawing on experiences from Germany and the United Kingdom, it finds that reforms need to include the integration of sustainability concerns into the legal frameworks of the electricity market. It also requires network and market regulation, which provide specifically for the different requirements of renewable energy. Finally, reforms to introduce whole-of-system planning into regulatory frameworks for the electricity system will be necessary. It is shown that because liberalized electricity markets inherently further existing generation and network profiles, they will not achieve these changes without governmental intervention. The thesis argues that reforms will require a reengagement of the state in directing and planning the electricity system, in other words, choosing a new path. While the re-conception of a decarbonized Australian electricity system can take different forms, the thesis provides a foundation for considering where legal reform will be necessary to support this process. DECLARATION This is to certify that: (i) the thesis comprises only my original work towards the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, except where indicated in the Preface; (ii) due acknowledgement has been made in the text to all other material used; and (iii) the thesis is less than 100,000 words in length, exclusive of the front matter, diagrams, tables, maps, bibliographies and appendices. Signed: PREFACE Aspects of this thesis have previously been published in the journal article and book chapter listed below: Lee Godden and Anne Kallies, ‘Electricity Network Development: New Challenges for Australia’ in Marta Roggenkamp et al, Energy Networks and the Law (OUP, 2012) 292 (50 per cent contribution of each author); Anne Kallies, ‘The impact of electricity market design on access to the grid and transmission planning for renewable energy: Can overseas examples provide guidance’ (2011) 2 Renewable Energy Law and Policy Review 147. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank both of my supervisors, Lee Godden and Jacqueline Peel, for their support, encouragement and their patience. They have not only provided excellent supervision, but also invaluable opportunities for presenting and publishing my work. My research has been greatly influenced by participating in an Interdisciplinary Research Project on Solar Power and Regulation at the University of Melbourne. Many thanks to my fellow team members - Fiona Haines of the School of Social and Political Sciences, Roger Dargaville and Dylan McConnell of the Melbourne Energy Institute and Peter Christoff of the School of Land and Environment for many great discussions. A special thanks also goes to Lisa Caripis and Stephanie Niall, my colleagues in the Melbourne Law School Centre for Resources, Energy and Environmental Law. Both were often the first port of call for testing out ideas and reading and commenting on parts of the thesis – their contribution has been invaluable. A special thank you needs to go to my friend Catherine Smith for making time to proofread the final thesis. Finally, I am very grateful to my husband and my children for bearing with me through the long process of finalizing this thesis. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter I: Introduction ................................................................................................ 1 I Background ................................................................................................................. 5 A The Australian Challenge ................................................................................................... 5 B The Legal Environment for Renewable Energy in Australia .............................................. 6 C Legislative Change in Other Jurisdictions .......................................................................... 9 II Thesis Contention and Approach ............................................................................ 10 III Beyond Existing Research: A New Theoretical Approach ..................................... 12 A Existing Research and Gaps ............................................................................................. 12 B A New Analytical Framework to Address the Role of Law in Liberalized Electricity Markets ................................................................................................................................ 14 1 The Standard Liberal Market Model ...................................................................................... 15 2 Alternative Models and the Role of Law ............................................................................... 17 3 Regulatory Space and the Role of Law in Electricity Markets .............................................. 17 C Comparative Legal Research ............................................................................................ 19 D Significance of the Thesis .................................................................................................. 22 E Limits of the Analysis ........................................................................................................ 23 IV Chapter Overview .................................................................................................. 25 Chapter 2: The Role of Law in Electricity Markets: Theory and Methodology ......... 29 I Systems Conceptions and the Electricity Sector ....................................................... 31 A The Theory of Socio-Technical Systems ........................................................................... 32 B Implications of Systems Perspectives ................................................................................ 35 C Characteristics of the Electricity System .......................................................................... 38 1 Technical Elements ................................................................................................................ 38 2 Norms of the Electricity System: The Essential Service Character of Electricity Supply ..... 42 II Evolution of Legal and Regulatory Framework of the Electricity System: Market Reform and Theoretical Perspectives .......................................................................... 44 A Electricity Market Reform: From Integrated Utilities to a Liberalized Market .............. 45 B The Wider Theory Context: Neoliberalism and the Regulatory State .............................. 49 1 The Regulatory State .............................................................................................................. 50 2 Conceptualizing Regulation in Market Frameworks .............................................................. 51 3 The Public-Private Divide and Markets as Regulatory Instruments ...................................... 52 III The Role of Law in the Electricity Market: Comparing Economic Theory and Systems Conceptions ................................................................................................... 54 A The Standard Liberal Market Model and the Role of Law .............................................. 57 B Systems Conceptions as an Alternative ............................................................................. 61 IV Using Systems Conceptions of Electricity to Clarify the Role of Law in Market Frameworks ................................................................................................................ 63 A Regulatory Space and the Role of Law ............................................................................. 64 B Liberalized Electricity Markets and Regulatory Space ...................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Investments in Power Generation in Great Britain C.1960-2010
    Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management Investments in power generation in Great Britain c.1960-2010: The role of accounting and the financialisation of investment decisions Liz Warren, Martin Quinn, Gerhard Kristandl, Article information: To cite this document: Liz Warren, Martin Quinn, Gerhard Kristandl, (2017) "Investments in power generation in Great Britain c.1960-2010: The role of accounting and the financialisation of investment decisions", Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, https://doi.org/10.1108/QRAM-01-2016-0002 Permanent link to this document: https://doi.org/10.1108/QRAM-01-2016-0002 Downloaded on: 25 December 2017, At: 00:42 (PT) References: this document contains references to 91 other documents. To copy this document: [email protected] The fulltext of this document has been downloaded 10 times since 2017* Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by emerald- srm:425905 [] For Authors If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. Downloaded by UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE At 00:42 25 December 2017 (PT) About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.com Emerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services. Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant.
    [Show full text]
  • Evolution and Gestalt of the State in the United Kingdom
    Martin Loughlin Evolution and Gestalt of the state in the United Kingdom Book section (Accepted version) (Refereed) Original citation: Originally published in: Cassese, Sabino, von Bogdandy, Armin and Huber, Peter, (eds.) The Max Planck Handbooks in European Public Law: The Administrative State. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2017 © 2017 Oxford University Press This version available at: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/81516/ Available in LSE Research Online: June 2017 LSE has developed LSE Research Online so that users may access research output of the School. Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Users may download and/or print one copy of any article(s) in LSE Research Online to facilitate their private study or for non-commercial research. You may not engage in further distribution of the material or use it for any profit-making activities or any commercial gain. You may freely distribute the URL (http://eprints.lse.ac.uk) of the LSE Research Online website. This document is the author’s submitted version of the book section. There may be differences between this version and the published version. You are advised to consult the publisher’s version if you wish to cite from it. Ius Publicum Europaeum: The Max Planck Handbook of European Public Law Vol. I: Public Law and Public Authority § 15: United Kingdom Martin Loughlin Outline 1. INTRODUCTION 2. STATE 2.1. Introduction 2.2. State formation 2.3. The Crown, the Government and the Body Politic 2.4. Crown Prerogatives 3.
    [Show full text]
  • Electricity Act, 1947
    Electricity Act, 1947. io & it GEo. 6. CH. 54. ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS. PART I. BRITISH ELECTRICITY AUTHORITY AND AREA ELECTRICITY BOARDS. Section. i. Main functions of Electricity Boards. 2. Additional functions of Electricity Boards. 3. Constitution of Central Authority and Area Boards. 4. Definition and variation of areas. 5. Powers of Minister in relation to Central Authority. 6. Powers of Central Authority and Minister in relation to Area Boards. 7. Consultative Councils. 8. Annual reports of Central Authority and Area Boards. 9. Compulsory purchase of land. ro. Power of Electricity Boards to promote and oppose Bills. ii. Electricity Boards not to be exempt from taxation, etc. 12. Liability of Electricity Boards in actions, etc. i,'ART II. ACQUISITION OF ELECTRICITY UNDERTAKINGS. Vesting of Assets. Bodies to whom Part II of Act applies. 1.4. Vesting of assets of electricity undertakings. 15. Provisions as to undertakings of local authorities. 16. Right of pre-emption for local authorities in respect of land vested in an Electricity Board. 17. Composite companies. i8. Disclaimer of agreements and leases. 1g. Subsequent transfer of property from one Electricity Board to another. Compensation to Holders of Securities. 20. Compensation to holders of securities of bodies other than local authorities. 2r. Appointment of stockholders' representative. A i CH. 54. Electricity Act, 1947. ro & ii GEO. 6. Compensation to Local Authorities. Section. 22. Compensation to local authorities. 23. Further compensation. to local authorities in respect of severance. 24. Further compensation to local authorities in respect of capital works. Compensation to Composite Companies. 25. Compensation to composite companies. Control of Dividends and Interest and Safeguarding of Assets pending transfer.
    [Show full text]
  • Ofgem Section 23 Determination RBA-TR-A-DET-159 (PDF)
    Determination No. RBA/TR/A/DET/159 DETERMINATION OF DISPUTES UNDER SECTION 23 OF THE ELECTRICITY ACT 1989 BETWEEN CITY OF WESTMINSTER, LONDON BOROUGH OF CAM DEN, LONDON BOROUGH OF ISLINGTON AND EDF ENERGY NETWORKS (LPN) PLC 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. On 3 December 2007, EDF Energy Networks (LPN) pic ("EDF") referred to the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (""the Authority") a dispute with the City of Westminster ("Westminster"), and a separate dispute with the London Borough of Camden ("Camden"), for determination by the Authority under section 23 of the Electricity Act 1989 (as amended) (the "Act"). On 24 January 2008, EDF referred an additional dispute with the London Borough of Islington ("Islington") to the Authority for determination. In this document, Camden, Westminster and Islington are, where appropriate, collectively referred to as "the Councils". 1.2. The principal point for determination in these disputes is who bears responsibility in law for renewing the rising and lateral mains ("R&Ls") inside the common parts of particular mufti-occupancy apartment blocks under the freehold ownership of the Councils1, and who bears the cost of such renewal. In very broad summary, EDF maintains that the relevant Council is responsible for the R&Ls at the block under its freehold ownership and therefore it (rather than EDF) should in each case bear the costs of replacing the R&Ls. The three Councils maintain that EDF is obliged to replace the R&Ls and to bear the costs of the replacement. 1.3. The parties to the disputes have confirmed in writing that they are content for their identities to be disclosed in this document and its Appendix and the accompanying parties' Submission Documents.
    [Show full text]
  • UK Electricity Networks the Nature of UK Electricity Transmission and Distribution Networks in an Intermittent Renewable and Embedded Electricity Generation Future
    UK Electricity Networks The nature of UK electricity transmission and distribution networks in an intermittent renewable and embedded electricity generation future By Scott Butler Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine Centre for Environmental Technology in collaboration with Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) September 2001 IMPERIAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICINE (University of London) Centre for Environmental Technology TH Huxley School of Environment, Earth Sciences & Engineering UK Electricity Networks The nature of UK electricity transmission and distribution networks in an intermittent renewable and embedded electricity generation future. By Scott Butler A report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the MSc and/or the DIC September 2001 DECLARATION OF OWN WORK I declare that this thesis… UK Electricity Networks: the nature of UK electricity transmission and distribution networks in an intermittent renewable and embedded electricity generation future. Is entirely my own work and that where any material could be construed as the work of others, it is fully cited and referenced, and/or with appropriate acknowledgement given Signature: __________________________________________ Date: _______________________________________________ Name of Student: _____________________________________ Name of Supervisor: ___________________________________ Page ii Abstract UK Electricity Networks The nature of UK electricity transmission and distribution networks in an intermittent renewable and embedded electricity generation future Electricity systems have developed during the last century on the basis of large central generating units. These feed into an interconnected high voltage transmission and lower voltage distribution network. Recent developments challenge this structure. Electricity market liberalisation introduced in 1989 has had a profound impact on the nature of the UK Electricity Supply Industry (ESI).
    [Show full text]
  • SOUTH EASTERN ELECTRICITY BOARD AREA Regional and Local Electricity Systems in Britain
    DR. G.T. BLOOMFIELD Professor Emeritus, University of Guelph THE SOUTH EASTERN ELECTRICITY BOARD AREA Regional and Local Electricity Systems in Britain 1 Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 2 The South Eastern Electricity Board Area ..................................................................................................... 2 Constituents of the South Eastern Electricity Board Area ............................................................................ 3 Development of Electricity Supply Areas ...................................................................................................... 3 I Local Initiatives.................................................................................................................................. 8 II State Intervention ........................................................................................................................... 13 III Nationalisation ................................................................................................................................ 25 Summary ..................................................................................................................................................... 31 Note on Sources .......................................................................................................................................... 32 CHRIST’S HOSPITAL SCHOOL Moved from the
    [Show full text]
  • Electricity Act 1947
    Status: This is the original version (as it was originally enacted). This item of legislation is currently only available in its original format. Electricity Act 1947 1947 CHAPTER 54 PART IV MISCELLANEOUS AND GENERAL Non-statutory undertakings 48 Acquisition of non-statutory undertakings (1) This section applies to any person, not being a body to whom Part II of this Act applies, who at the passing of this Act is engaged in supplying electricity to the general public and who, at any time after the nineteenth day of November, nineteen hundred and forty-five, has incurred or incurs, in respect of works approved by the Minister for the purposes of this section (whether before or after the execution of the works) expenditure properly chargeable to capital account; and in this section any such person is referred to as " the undertakers," and his business, so far as it consists of the supply of electricity to the general public, is referred to as " the electricity undertaking." (2) The undertakers may, at any time before the expiration of the period of twelve months beginning with the date of the passing of this Act, serve on the Central Authority a notice requiring that the electricity undertaking shall be transferred under this section, and thereupon the following provisions of this section shall have effect. (3) On such date, not being later than six months after the service of the notice, as may be agreed between the undertakers and the Central Authority or, in default of agreement, determined by the Minister (which date is hereafter in this section referred to as " the date of transfer "), all property of the undertakers which was, immediately before the date of transfer, wholly or mainly used for the purposes of the electricity undertaking shall, by virtue of this Act, vest in the Area Board whose area comprised the whole or the main part of the area of supply of the undertakers, and shall vest free of any mortgage or other incumbrance.
    [Show full text]
  • Management Development and Succession in the Electricity Industry 1948 - 1998: Executive Men and Non-Executive Women
    MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT AND SUCCESSION IN THE ELECTRICITY INDUSTRY 1948 - 1998: EXECUTIVE MEN AND NON-EXECUTIVE WOMEN Margaret Nisbet A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The London School of Economics and Political Science University of London June 2001 © The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without the prior written consent of the author. UMI Number: U150870 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U150870 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 F Abstract This thesis investigates the development and succession of British Electricity Industry executives (top managers) during the half-century from 1948, and examines the reasons why few female employees became senior managers, and none became board members. In response to the continuing need for professional engineers, the industry operated a policy of internal promotion in parallel with systematic procedures for recruiting, training, developing and promoting employees and managers. The shortage of technical trainees resulted in the recruitment of apprentices with qualifications below the required standard; together with talented manual workers who were also perceived as potential engineers.
    [Show full text]
  • Statute Law Revision: Sixteenth Report Draft Statute Law (Repeals) Bill
    LAW COMMISSION SCOTTISH LAW COMMISSION STATUTE LAW REVISION: SIXTEENTH REPORT DRAFT STATUTE LAW (REPEALS) BILL CONTENTS Paragraph Page REPORT 1 APPENDIX 1: DRAFT STATUTE LAW (REPEALS) BILL 2 APPENDIX 2: EXPLANATORY NOTE ON THE DRAFT BILL 46 Clauses 1 – 3 46 Schedule 1: Repeals 47 PART I: Administration of Justice 47 Group 1 - Sheriffs 1.1 47 Group 2 - General Repeals 1.4 48 PART II: Ecclesiastical Law 51 Group 1 - Ecclesiastical Leases 2.1 51 Group 2 - Tithe Acts 2.6 53 PART III: Education 57 Group 1 - Public Schools 3.1 57 Group 2 - Universities 3.2 57 PART IV: Finance 60 Group 1 - Colonial Stock 4.1 60 Group 2 - Land Commission 4.4 60 Group 3 - Development of Tourism 4.6 61 Group 4 - Loan Societies 4.7 62 Group 5 - General Repeals 4.9 62 PART V: Hereford and Worcester 65 Statutory Undertaking Provisions 5.8 68 Protective Provisions 5.15 71 Bridges 5.16 72 Miscellaneous Provisions 5.24 75 PART VI: Inclosure Acts 77 iii Paragraph Page PART VII: Scottish Local Acts 83 Group 1 - Aid to the Poor, Charities and Private Pensions 7.7 84 Group 2 - Dog Wardens 7.9 85 Group 3 - Education 7.12 86 Group 4 - Insurance Companies 7.13 86 Group 5 - Local Authority Finance 7.14 87 Group 6 - Order Confirmation Acts 7.19 89 Group 7 - Oyster and Mussel Fisheries 7.22 90 Group 8 - Other Repeals 7.23 90 PART VIII: Slave Trade Acts 92 PART IX: Statutes 102 Group 1 - Statute Law Revision Acts 9.1 102 Group 2 - Statute Law (Repeals) Acts 9.6 103 PART X: Miscellaneous 106 Group 1 - Stannaries 10.1 106 Group 2 - Sea Fish 10.3 106 Group 3 - Sewers Support 10.4 107 Group 4 - Agricultural Research 10.5 108 Group 5 - General Repeals 10.6 108 Schedule 2: Consequential and connected provisions 115 APPENDIX 3: CONSULTEES ON REPEAL OF LEGISLATION 117 PROPOSED IN SCHEDULE 1, PART V iv THE LAW COMMISSION AND THE SCOTTISH LAW COMMISSION STATUTE LAW REVISION: SIXTEENTH REPORT Draft Statute Law (Repeals) Bill To the Right Honourable the Lord Irvine of Lairg, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, and the Right Honourable the Lord Hardie, QC, Her Majesty’s Advocate 1.
    [Show full text]
  • This Document Is of Gem's Front End Document with EOF and the London Borough of Camden's Amendments Shown in Track Change Format
    This document is Of gem's Front End Document with EOF and the London Borough of Camden's amendments shown in track change format Determination No. RBA/TR/A/DET/ DETERMINATION BY THE GAS AND ELECTRICITY MARKETS AUTHORITY OF A DISPUTE REFERRED TO IT UNDER SECTION 23 OF THE ELECTRICITY ACT 1989 CONCERNING WHO IS RESPONSIBLE IN LAW FOR RENEWING RISING AND LATERAL ELECTRICITY MAINS AT THE PREMISES AND WHO SHOULD BEAR THE COST OF RENEWAL. 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 The Gas and Electricity Markets Authority ("the Authority") has been asked by EOF Energy LPN pic ("EOF"), an. electricity distributor, to determine a dispute between the London Borough of Camden and EOF in relation to (i) who is responsible in law for renewing rising and lateral electricity mains C'R&Ls") installed in the multi-occupancy residential building known as Dorney House Chalcots Estate, Adelaide Road, London NW3; and (ii) who should bear the cost of renewal. 1.2 This dispute has been referred to the Authority for determination under Section 23 of the Electricity Act 1989 ("the Act") which requires the Authority to determine disputes arising under sections 16 to 21 of the Act when so requested by an electricity distributor or a person requiring a connection. 1.3 EDFs request for a formal determination of the dispute under section 23 of the Act was received by Ofgem on 3 December 512 2007. Ofgem is the office set up to assist the Authority to. discharge its statutory responsibilities. BACKGROUND 2.1 The determination concerns a dispute about a request for a connection to be maintained at Dorney House, Chalcots Estate.
    [Show full text]
  • The Nationalized Industries
    This PDF is a selection from an out-of-print volume from the National Bureau of Economic Research Volume Title: The Growth of Public Expenditure in the United Kingdom Volume Author/Editor: Alan T. Peacock, and Jack Wiseman Volume Publisher: Princeton University Press Volume ISBN: 0-87014-071-X Volume URL: http://www.nber.org/books/peac61-1 Publication Date: 1961 Chapter Title: The Nationalized Industries Chapter Author: Alan T. Peacock, Jack Wiseman Chapter URL: http://www.nber.org/chapters/c2309 Chapter pages in book: (p. 121 - 133) CHAPTER 7 The Nationalized Industries THE public corporations as a whole differ from other public collective services in important respects. They make charges for their services, related broadly to the costs of provision, and preserve other character- istics of private trading. Notably, they retain control over the use of their reserves and have usually the power to issue stock; they may even be subjected to profits taxes, or be required to pay local rates, or both. On the other hand, the nationalized industries differ from private enter- prises in being subjected to certain general (and often extremely vague) directives, laid down in the individual nationalization Acts. One such directive is ubiquitous: that the industries shall perform their functions so as to "secure that the combined revenues. .. arenot less than sufficient to meet their combined outgoings properly chargeable to revenue account taking one year with another."1 Most Acts also include a general exhort- ation to provide the services concerned "efficiently and cheaply," what- ever that might mean. There is evidence that the enterprises have not always found these directives easy to fulfill or mutually compatible; the further general and vague requirement to act "in the public interest" has accordingly been used to interpret the other directives as the corporations might wish.2 It is not easy to provide statistics of nationalized industries' income and expenditure payments of a kind that will illuminate the evolution of these enterprises as a part of the public sector.
    [Show full text]
  • British Re-Nationalization and Regulation: the Government's Liability to Shareholders*
    BRITISH RE-NATIONALIZATION AND REGULATION: THE GOVERNMENT'S LIABILITY TO SHAREHOLDERS* KRIs WILLIAMS" 1. INTRODUCTION During the 1980s, Margaret Thatcher transformed the political and economic agenda of Great Britain. Emphasizing the traditional values of economic liberalism, Thatcher limited the role of the state in the economy and reduced the influence of trade unions. Privatizing many of its nationalized indus- tries, the British Government sold off most of its shares in numerous industries, including British Telecom, Brit Gas, British Aerospace, and Cable & Wireless. The number of shareholders in Great Britain soared. Currently, Britain is second only to the United States as a shareholding democra- cy.I Privatization had several effects which were vital to the success of the Thatcher government. First, privatization raised over eight billion pounds for the British treasury by 1988.2 This money helped fund many of Thatcher's undertak- ings, including income tax reductions and the Falklands War. * This Comment was written prior to the British general election in April 1992 as well as Neil Kinnock's subsequent resignation as Labour party leader. However, these events had little effect on the Labour party platform. The party's commitment, for example, to re-nationalization and regulation remain unchanged. The Labour party had abandoned its commitment to sweeping re-nationalization prior to the 1992 general election. By the mid-1980s, the Labour party had adopted its current policy favoring industrial regulation and limited re-nationalization. The British populace did not reject the Labour party's commitment to re-nationalization and regulation when it elected the Conservatives to another term in April 1992.
    [Show full text]