Reliability is too important to leave it to the economists

Summary form only given. When the electric power marketplace was regulated, its reliability was one of the most important aspects of its planning and operation. Reliability is looked at as an agreed upon goal of planning and operation. The problem is in defining just how reliable a power system is to be. The reliability of a power system is not universally agreed upon, nor are the rules of operation to provide the reliability universally agreed upon. However, everyone understands that a more reliable supply of electricity results in a higher cost to electric customers. Unfortunately there is no level of reliable delivery that is generally accepted as the level that is "best" for every customer, and indeed, some customers will need more reliable delivery than others. Further, there is no generally accepted model giving the tradeoff between electric energy reliability and the benefit electric energy brings to each customer. Last of all, it is not easy to differentiate between customers requiring more or less reliability when they are all connected to the same grid. The author explores: How reliable should a power system be? How can the correct reliability be determined? Would it help to differentiate different customer reliability needs and could these different needs be used to maintain high reliability standards while relaxing the restraints on the system? How reliable would a typical power system be operated if it used a true cost benefit tradeoff between reliable operation and the actual costs of power outages to customers? Should the level of reliability be set by congress or left to the marketplace?.