Urgent changes needed for U.S. power markets. (Electricity).

A series of twelve policy and structural changes are the minimum steps needed to move the U.S. electric power industry beyond its current crisis of confidence into a workable, deregulated industry, according to Energy Restructuring at a Crossroads, a new study by Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) sponsored by Accenture and involving morethan 40 energy companies, industry associations and regulators.

According to CERA Senior Director of North American Electric Power Larry Makovich. "This is not the time to reinvent the wheel. It is not a coincidence that wholesale power markets such as PJM Interconnection (Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland) and ERCOT (Electric Reliability council of Texas) are working well because these markets evolved with legacy rules and institutions reflecting the unique underlying characteristics of the power business. Complex underlying industry conditions and required structural elements have caused integrated bulk power systems to adopt rules and institutions over decades to make these systems work …