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THE CONUNDRUMS FACING AUSTRALIA's NATIONAL ELECTRICITY MARKET
Author(s) -
CHESTER LYNNE
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
economic papers: a journal of applied economics and policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.245
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 1759-3441
pISSN - 0812-0439
DOI - 10.1111/j.1759-3441.2006.tb00409.x
Subject(s) - antithesis , electricity market , electricity , economics , investment (military) , market economy , business , industrial organization , engineering , political science , law , politics , philosophy , linguistics , electrical engineering
Australia's national electricity market (NEM) is national in name only. It is eight years since the NEM commenced and the objective of a fully competitive market has not been reached. The NEM's structural characteristics, shaped strongly although not exclusively by its evolving regulatory regime, have created the exact antithesis. This paper examines the NEM's key structural characteristics, the consequential pricing and investment outcomes and the conundrums posed for governments and regulators elucidating the reasons why a fully competitive NEM—beyond an increased number of buyers and sellers, and choice of supplier for all consumers—can not be attained without substantial changes.