Regulatory Rationing of Electricity under a Supply Curtailment,
Abstract
When the Organization of Arab Oil Producing Countries voted in October 1973 to Embargo shipments of oil and oil products and to raise prices in general, all uses of energy came under scrutiny. Electric utilities that rely heavily on fuel oil or natural gas for generation were especially vulnerable to serious disruptions in supplies. A variety of policy measures for affecting demand were considered at that time. These can be divided broadly into (1) measures that would cut consumption by raising prices and (2) measures that would cut consumption by voluntary or mandatory rationing. The merits of these alternative approaches have been debated at length by economists and policymakers. Los angeles chose to meet its problem with a city ordinance requiring customers to reduce their consumption of electricity relative to the preceding year. Our discussion focuses on three questions: What was The Los Angeles Plan. What were its immediate and longer run effects on electricity consumption. What does this experiment suggest about the relative desirability of such an approach were another fuel or other crisis to occur.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1976
- Accession Number
- ADA032234
Entities
People
- Jan Paul Acton
- Ragnhild Mowill
Organizations
- RAND Corporation