An Industry in Transition Early Competition Monopolists The Golden Era and Shattered Momentum Partial Competition Stresses Entrepreneurs Modern Technologies Barriers to Innovation Innovation-Based Restructuring Notes Index
"[A]n extraordinarily comprehensive and enjoyable historical portrait of the nation's most critical energy supply system, and its indispensable engine of progress and prosperity. This splendid book is as readable as it is rigorous in its fascinating journey through the creation and the evolution of the electricity enterprise in the 20th century. What sets Munson's work apart is his probing exploration of the powerful and diverse personalities who collectively shaped what has become the world's largest and most complex machine." -- Kurt Yeager, President, Electrical Power Research Institute "From Edison to Enron is a compact history of U.S. electrical utilities that demonstrates the urgent need for reform and explains how Americans can use new technologies to become more efficient, less dependent on oil imports, and more environmentally responsible. This book is not only essential reading for anyone who cares about the electric bill, but also for anyone concerned about what we bequeath to the next generation." -- David E. Nye, Professor of Comparative American Studies, University of Warwick, author of Electrifying America
Richard Munson is Director of the Northeast-Midwest Institute, a non-partisan policy research center in Washington, D.C. Having founded the National Solar Lobby and Center for Renewable Resources in the 1970s, he has spent the last 25 years spearheading innovative public policy approaches to help meet America's energy needs. He frequently testifies before Congress, collaborates with regional energy and power providers, briefs local and state governments on their energy options, and provides consumer information on energy choices. His articles on the business and politics of the electricity industry have appeared in publications ranging from The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times to the journals of the National Academy of Sciences, environmental organizations and utility associations. He is the author of The Power Makers, Cousteau: The Captain and His World, and The Cardinals of Capitol Hill.
Munson presents a 100-year history of the electric power industry.
The early history focuses on important persons--Edison,
Westinghouse, Tesla, Samuel Insull, and George Norris--emphasizing
technology and entrepreneurship. The later history traces a series
of interrelated problems, developments, and events: public power
(TVA, Boulder/Hoover Dam), blackouts, oil embargoes, Con Edison's
missed dividend, Three Mile Island, increased competition,
alternative energy sources, cogeneration, deregulation,
California's 2000-01 crisis, regulation supporting monopoly,
possibilities for greater efficiency, and problems of an aging
capital stock. The author also examines the dead hand of
governmental regulation: barriers to new competition, the
preservation of vested interests, and the grease of political
contributions. This stimulating book offers many fine and valid
points….Recommended. General readers.
*Choice*
Traces the history of the electricity industry, highlighting key
individuals, technological innovations, corporate tactics, and
political battles; assesses the current status of the industry; and
presents an agenda for the future.
*Journal of Economic Literature*
[A] lively and readable account of electricity in the US, starting
in fact before Edison and continuing beyond the debacle of
Enron.
*Modern Power Systems*
From Thomas Edison's struggle with George Westinghouse to the
pending trial of Kenneth Lay, Munson spins a timely and
well-researched story. Munson addresses the most recent concerns of
elevated energy prices, while expanding on many new technologies
that can improve pollution and more reliable energy. Perhaps the
most insightful look into this industry is the current policy
barriers that hinder their implementation. Munson explores these
policies, some favored by the Bush administration, to show how
environmentalists and energy executives can improve this industry
by changing their positions….This book is for those of you with
inquiries dealing with the innovation and welfare of a
more-reliable energy system, especially for boaters, where fuel
concerns are present. From Edison to Enron is chock full of
eye-opening information.
*Great Lakes Boating*
Richard Munson has written a fine history of the U.S. electric
industry, no mean feat. His From Edison to Enron is a good survey,
with enough technical content to satisfy us geeks, but not so much
as to overwhelm a good yarn. His mini-bios are particularly well
done, giving a human face to a huge and often imposing, impersonal
industry. His material on Edison was familiar, as it will be to
many readers of this publication. But his work on George
Westinghouse, Nicola Tesla and Samuel Insull will prove
enlightening to many.
*The Electricity Daily*
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