Power Struggle: The Hundred-Year War over Electricity

by Richard Rudolph, Scott Ridley

This history of America's electric power industry discusses why the development of nuclear plants suddenly accelerated, why attempts at government regulation have been abandoned, and Wall Street's relationship to the industry

Genres: Nonfiction

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[William Pentland · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the better books I've read about the political history of the electric utility industry, but it focuses myopically on the politics of public/private ownership. That is an important dynamic driving change (or at least the possibility of change) in the industry, but it is only one of many forces doing so. The book's primary shortcoming is the dearth of material on the actual mechanics (and the associated political history) of utility regulation. The bottom line: I recommend reading this book to anyone interested in the electric power industry.

[Christopher Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent explanation of how some industries can run amok, costing billions in unnecessary costs. A good read for anyone trying to understand the modern cable/telecommunications fights and why the U.S. is sinking in Internet rankings.

Also a very good explanation of why public power should be owned locally by an entity with a nonprofit business model - muni or coop. For-profit inevitably turns into absentee ownership, higher bills, and lower reliability.