ABSTRACT
Government regulation of enterprise has had a long and stormy history. In its modern form, it began in Munn v. Illinois, when the US Supreme Court upheld the power of the state to regulate prices for a firm that possessed the economic power to exploit its customers. The regulation of public utilities has gone through several phases, each of which played a role in shaping the basic character and performance of regulatory institutions. The strengths and weaknesses of the system of public control are largely products of this development. In the electric utility industries, the old triumvirate of market growth, technological advance, and economies of scale began to falter in 1968–69. Congress and the Department of Energy perceived peak pricing and load management as major steps to control cost increases, assure more efficient use of plant, and promote conservation.
