ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the network industries in the energy sector and focuses on electricity, at least when it comes to liberalization and regulation. Electricity, like telecommunications and railways, emerged from the bottom up and from the private sector: private local generation plants and distribution networks were developed in urban areas and were gradually connected to one another, leading over time to a more stable electricity supply. The European approach to electricity liberalization was much more radical and less convoluted, at least in its early stages. While the European Union approach to electricity market liberalization is intellectually very appealing and basically leads to electricity becoming a commodity, it requires numerous and strong regulations to function. Many challenges await the not yet totally liberalized electricity sector, not only in Europe: technological changes in various areas, climate change, security of supply, and digitalization. Both in terms of liberalization and in terms of re-regulation, the gas sector is very similar to the electricity sector.
