Reliability Consequences of Liberalization in the Electricity Sector: Existing Research and Remaining Questions

​The generation, transmission and distribution of energy are among the most vital prerequisites for the functioning of modern societies. Since the early 1990s, the energy sectors of Western societies have been through a process of institutional restructuring, where large state-owned monopolies have been divided into several independent organizations. Also, the organizations responsible for providing energy, like most other industrial organizations today, have made increasing use of outsourcing strategies. Taken together, these developments represent a significant change in the framework conditions for the energy sector. How this development affects the reliability of energy supply and the capacity for effective crisis management is an important question from both a research perspective as well as from a societal point of view. This article reviews the current literature on these issues, aiming to identify research gaps in the existing literature. Several research gaps are identified. Ekstern lenke til publikasjon: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-5973.2010.00619.x/abstract