The Western power system has undergone earth-shaking changes in the long course of history, turning from the stage of nationalization to the stage of marketization, like a phoenix flying freely, reborn in the flames.
February**Dynamic Incentive Program Early era of free competition (1880s-1920s).
Since Edison built the first power plant in human history in Manhattan, New York in 1882, the world's power industry has gone through more than 140 years of glorious history. The power plant lit up 400 electric lights, including JP Morgan's office, and began the prelude to electricity changing the world.
The early power industry was full of fierce competition. In the United States, for example, at the end of the 19th century, with the spread of electricity, a large number of decentralized electric utilities sprung up. At that time, the demand for electricity was mainly concentrated in the fields of electric traction locomotives and night lighting, and due to the single load and small scale, the load factors of each power plant were generally low, which led to high electricity prices and electricity was seen as a luxury.
The competition between these utilities is extremely fierce, and they are constantly innovating and improving their technology to compete for market share. In order to reduce costs and improve efficiency, they have introduced more automation and intelligent technologies, and gradually formed a modern power industry system.
Today, the world's power industry has undergone earth-shaking changes. With the continuous advancement of technology and the continuous expansion of the market, electricity has become one of the indispensable energy sources in modern society. From illuminating cities to powering transportation, from providing medical equipment to supporting industrial production, electricity is playing an increasingly important role.
*Age of Control (1930s-1960s).
In the process of the development of the power industry, centralized power generation and combined operation of the power grid have gradually become the mainstream. This model not only reduces duplicate investment and operating costs, but also enables efficient transmission and distribution of electricity. As this trend continues to grow, a large number of small utilities are beginning to realize the need for consolidation in order to form more competitive national or regional power groups. By sharing resources, technology and experience, these groups have further improved the efficiency of electricity production, transmission and distribution.
In the thirties of the 19th century, Keynesian economics gradually became the dominant view. Keynesian economics emphasizes the importance of intervening in the economy, especially in industries with natural monopoly attributes, such as the power industry. Due to the peculiarities of the power industry, ** began to worry that the abuse of monopoly power could harm the interests of consumers and social equity. Therefore, a series of measures have been taken to regulate the development of the power industry.
In order to prevent the abuse of monopoly power, ** has adopted a variety of ways to intervene in the power industry. In some countries, ** choose to participate directly in the investment and become part of the power group for better regulation and control. Others have opted to nationalize the power sector to achieve complete control. Other countries have adopted a heavily regulated concession model to ensure fair competition in the electricity market through strict regulation and regulation.
The implementation of these measures has effectively prevented the monopoly problem in the power industry and promoted fair competition in the electricity market and the protection of consumers' interests. At the same time, it has also laid a solid foundation for the sustainable development of the power industry.
The era of total marketization (1970s-present).
In the aftermath of the oil crisis, the global energy landscape has changed dramatically, and the traditional regulatory model has begun to show its drawbacks. Problems such as the lag in electricity price adjustment and excessive investment have become increasingly prominent, causing consumers to be dissatisfied with the monopoly system. In 1978, the United States pioneered the Public Utilities Regulatory Policy Act, which marked the beginning of global electricity market reform. In the decades that followed, privatization, marketization, deregulation, and the introduction of competition became the main themes of power system reform. This series of reforms not only involves theoretical preparation, but also includes technical practice and in-depth promotion. After theoretical preparation in the 70s of the last century, technical practice in the 80s and in-depth promotion in the 90s, by the beginning of the 21st century, the construction of the power market in the West has formed a relatively complete system. However, the reform has not been without its challenges. During this period, the California power crisis and the US-Canada power outage occurred one after another, which brought a huge impact on the global electricity market. Despite this, the global electricity market has gradually formed a mature theoretical system in the past few decades, and benchmark models such as the U.S. PJM, the Nordics, and the German power market have emerged. However, in the face of a new round of energy revolution, the global power system still needs to continue to reform and evolve. In the future, the electricity market will pay more attention to the development of renewable energy, the construction of smart grids, and breakthroughs in energy storage technology. Only by constantly adapting and changing can we ensure the sustainability and prosperity of the global electricity market. 