About this Book

Hirsh starts by describing the successful campaign by utility managers in the first decade of the century to protect their industry from competition. The regulated system that emerged had the unanticipated consequence of endowing utility managers with great political and economic power. Seven decades later a series of largely unanticipated events, including the accumulated effects of technological stagnation, the 1973 energy crisis, and the rise of the environmental movement, undermined the managers' control of the system. Many people began to question the utilities' standing as "natural monopolies." New players such as academics, environmental and consumer advocates, politicians, and potential competitors began to affect public perception of the industry. The once closed system came under increasing pressure to transform itself.