ABSTRACT
The primary challenge of implementing decentralization is that of changing the criteria by which the array of energy decisions are made. With very low energy prices, the consumer had little incentive to invest the time and effort to obtain information in order to improve his decisions. Investments in energy conservation are not considered as part of the portfolio of projects that a utility planner evaluates. The additional energy produced detracts from rather than contributes to our lives because no new services are provided, environmental degradation is increased, and resources that could have been used productively are lost. The effects of higher energy prices are already visible and are likely to become more visible during the eighties. The federal government has undertaken some major initiatives to bring about energy conservation, particularly in those areas where the market does not appear to work well.
