| Book Review | The Journal of American History, 89.1

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| Book Review | The Journal of American History, 89.1 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Power Loss: The Origins of Deregulation and Restructuring in the American Utility System. By Richard F. Hirsh. (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1999. xii, 406 pp. $50.00, ISBN 0-262-08273-X.)

The electrical utility industry has undergone a revolution in the last thirty years. Before the 1970s utility companies enjoyed a "natural monopoly." Recently, however, the advocates of a free-market system have challenged the old ways. Exploring this radical change is the purpose of Richard F. Hirsh's book. Power Loss unravels the mysteries of deregulation, a concept that took center stage with the California energy crisis of 2000–2001. 1

In reviewing the growth of the electricity industry, Hirsh illustrates how pioneers such as Samuel Insull embraced the concept of a "natural monopoly," in which utilities agreed to give pricing power to state regulatory commissions in exchange for freedom from competition, sympathetic treatment, and a reasonable profit. It was a comfortable system for the "power elites." In the 1970s, however, events conspired to shake the edifice of monopoly, resulting in the Public Utility Regulatory Policy Act of 1978 (PURPA). Section 210 of this complicated act opened the door to co-generation and the development of renewable energy technology. In essence, the section allowed a business or a small entrepreneur to produce electricity, and it required the utility company to purchase that power at a fair price. . . .

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