Do Markets Reduce Prices? Evidence from the U.S. Electricity Sector
60 Pages Posted: 26 Feb 2021 Last revised: 20 Jun 2023
Date Written: June 19, 2023
Abstract
We construct a novel dataset on electricity generation, wholesale transactions, and retail sales to assess the shift from cost-of-service regulation to deregulated, market-based prices in the context of the U.S. electricity sector. Consistent with earlier studies, we find that the costs of generation fell in deregulated markets. However, despite lower generation costs, wholesale prices increased along with utilities' overall expenses on energy. The resulting increase in utility costs can explain a substantial portion of the increase in downstream retail prices. Overall, we estimate that the increase in wholesale markups more than offset the efficiency gains, which can occur when markets are not perfectly competitive.
Keywords: Deregulation, Markets, Markups, Market Power, Electricity
JEL Classification: L51, L94, D43, L13
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation