Electricity Market Research Reports & Industry Analysis

The term utility is multifaceted. It either refers to an organization that provides a crucial infrastructural service, or the service itself. Electricity is an essential utility in our society and one that is heavily regulated and scrutinized. Since its introduction in 1882, with electric lighting, electricity has been an important component of life in America and life in developed countries around the world. Currently, electricity is viewed as a natural monopoly. The creation and distribution of electricity is only efficient if a limited number of organizations are allowed to participate in the market. Governmental regulation and control is typically limited to rate of return and cost structure. Independent vertically integrated entities thus have fidelity in the generation of power and retail of services. While some concern exists regarding price manipulation and reliable distribution to the consumer, the Electricity Industry has been open to multiple competitors in single market structures since the 1990’s which has led to improvements in efficiency. Currently EON located in Germany is the world’s largest electric power company, while Duke Energy is the largest in the United States. These corporate entities deal with all aspects of sales and production of electric power.