The Public Utility Regulatory Policy Act and Regulatory Behavior.

The 1978 Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act set energy conservation and efficient, equitable electricity rates as national goals. The decision on whether to implement innovative rates to meet these goals was turned over to state public service commissions, but not all states implemented the rates. This paper uses economic and political variables to explain state decisions regarding implementation. The results suggest that state commissions were influenced by concerns for economic efficiency, but were also swayed by political pressures. Copyright 1990 by Kluwer Academic Publishers