It Has Been a Long Time
135 years after Thomas Edison formed the Edison Electric Light Company in 1878 and the subsequent patent for an electricity distribution system in 1880, a lot has changed for the electric power industry in the U.S. and the global energy sector in general. The industry has moved from hazardous bare copper wire installations and opportunistic pricing to hazardous market models and manipulated pricing. During this period, access to unfettered amounts of energy has been tremendous for U.S. national security, but at the same time, the wild abandon of energy to the open markets has had just the opposite effect. When charting important U.S. energy market developments from the Progressive Era to present, it becomes clear that the boom and bust cycles that have characterized the industry have had deleterious effects.
Agitated and Motivated: The Progressive Era, 1890s-1920s
Amidst the political agitation of the U.S. Progressive Era, the idea of regulating natural monopolies, including electric utilities, gained momentum as the U.S. became motivated to develop its industrial base and global superiority. In this period, Samuel Insull, who was at one time Edison’s right-hand man, helped usher in the regulation of the industry through utility franchise agreements and business conducted under a cost of service model. Regulations provided the nation with significant economies of scale, as well as energy and transportation security. The central role that electricity played in national security soon led to the federalization of power in 1920 through the Federal Water Power Act. While the original purpose of the Act was to coordinate the development of large hydroelectric projects in the U.S., it also gave the country a massive energy and industrial advantage. The Federal Power Commission would come into being to regulate hydropower dams. The country was on its way to a New Deal.
Below is the timeline of U.S. Power Industry Events and Regulations:
| Year | Event |
| 1878 | Electric Light Company |
| 1880 | Electric Distribution System |
| 1920 | Federal Water Power Act |
| 1935 | Federal Power Act |
| 1935 | Public Utility Holding Company Act |
| 1936 | Rural Electrification Act |
| 1938 | Natural Gas Act |
| 1939 | Second World War |
| 1946 | Atomic Energy Act |
| 1954 | Atomic Energy Act Amended |
| 1965 | Northeast Blackout |
| 1968 | NERC Reliability Regions |
| 1973 | OPEC Oil Crisis |
| 1975 | Energy Policy and Conservation Act |
| 1977 | Department of Energy Organization Act |
| 1978 | National Energy Act |
| 1978 | National Energy Conservation Policy Act |
| 1978 | Power Plant and Industrial Fuel Use Act |
| 1978 | Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act |
| 1978 | Energy Tax Act |
| 1978 | Natural Gas Policy Act |
| 1980 | Energy Security Act |
| 1980 | U.S. Synthetic Fuels Corporation Act |
| 1980 | Biomass Energy and Alcohol Fuels Act |
| 1980 | Renewable Energy Resources Act |
| 1980 | Solar Energy and Energy Conservation Act |
| 1980 | Geothermal Energy Act |
| 1980 | Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Act |
| 1982 | Nuclear Waste Policy Act |
| 1992 | Energy Policy Act |
| 1996 | Alberta Power Pool |
| 1996 | FERC 888 |
| 1998 | FASB 133 |
| 2000 | Tech Bust |
| 2000 | California Energy Crisis |
| 2001 | 911 Terrorist Attack |
| 2001 | Enron Scandal |
| 2002 | Sarbanes–Oxley Act |
| 2003 | War on Iraq |
| 2005 | Energy Policy Act |
| 2007 | Subprime Crisis |
| 2007 | Energy Independence and Security Act (Clean Air) |
| 2008 | The Energy and Tax Extenders Act of 2008 |
| 2008 | Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 |
| 2008 | Strategic Petroleum Reserve Fill Suspension and Consumer Protection Act |
| 2008 | America COMPETES Act |
| 2008 | Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008 |
| 2009 | American Recovery and Reinvestment Act |
| 2010 | Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act |
| 2011 | U.S. Debt Crisis |
| 2012 | Clean Energy Standard Act |
| 2013 | Fiscal Cliff |
Data Sources: ISO/RTO
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