The effectiveness of utility regulation - some statistical tests

Much of the case for utility deregulation rests on the question of how effective regulation has been in properly pricing electric power and fostering an efficient allocation of resources. The less effective regulation has been in fulfilling these functions, the more far-reaching the changes that deregulation spawns are likely to be. The electric rate structure of individual utilities, relative to each other during the last two decades, suggest that regulation has failed to discharge its tasks very satisfactorily.