Restructuring the electricity industry in Britain and Norway

This article describes the institutional setting of the electricity industries of Britain and Norway prior to the reform, and the political backdrop against which this process took place. This information is used to analyze the motivations that, in each case, drove the process, and relate this analysis to the characteristics of the electricity markets that were its results. The objective of this analysis is to reveal the ways in which political and historical factors can limit competition and the operation of markets, determine the organizational structure of the electricity industry, resolve operational and regulatory dilemmas, and affect technology choice.