• Publication Regulation Thirty years after water privatization—is the English model the envy of the world?
    November 11, 2019

    The paper considers whether water privatization 30 years ago has delivered the promised superior performance to nationalization, which remains the dominant model in Europe.
  • Publication Transport HS2: a conclusion in search of a rationale
    September 5, 2019

    What is the question or questions to which HS2 is supposed to be an answer? As with a number of big and long-term projects, as one rationale collapses another is grasped in the attempt to justify doing something, rather than work out whether it is a...
  • Publication Energy Power cuts and how to avoid them
    August 19, 2019

    Whatever the approximate causes of the particular power cuts in mid-August this year, the very idea that the electricity system could be brought to its knees just because a couple of power stations dropped off at short notice should send alarm bells...
  • Video Environment Introduction to Green and Prosperous Land: A Blueprint for Rescuing the British Countryside
    March 7, 2019

    An Introduction to my new book - Green and Prosperous Land
  • Publication Regulation The Systems Regulation Model
    February 12, 2019

    There is widespread dissatisfaction with many of the privatised utilities. In the rail sector, despite gaining from much higher revenues from a doubling of demand and significantly higher real prices, performance has been subject to repeated criticisms...
  • Publication Energy Why aren’t electricity prices falling?
    February 1, 2019

    The costs of renewables are falling, oil and gas prices have fallen back, and demand is soft. Why then are electricity prices being pushed up, rather than falling back?
  • Publication Energy Nuclear lessons for energy policy
    January 23, 2019

    The Hitachi decision has been a long time coming and is not at all surprising. It comes at a crossroads for the energy sector. Government has decided (rightly) to exit coal. It has tried and so far failed to back gas as an interim replacement...
  • Publication Regulation The Dividend Puzzle: what should utilities pay out?
    December 4, 2018

    Why does Centrica yield 9.3% and SSE 8.4%, whilst DRAX yields 3.2%? Why do United Utilities, Severn Trent and Pennon yield respectively 5.0%, 4.8% and 4.4%, and National Grid 5.8%, whilst BT yields 6.0% (all at the end of November 2018)? Why are they...
  • Publication EU Membership BREXIT: The Hotel California Syndrome
    September 10, 2018

    The Eagles song, Hotel California, has the memorable line: “you can check out any time you like. But you can never leave!”, which is a striking metaphor for the BREXIT negotiations. The full verse is:
  • Publication Water Who owns the water companies?
    July 24, 2018

    Who owns the water companies? Are publicly quoted companies better than private equity and infrastructure owned companies? Does it really matter? All sorts of claims are being made, and the merit of the discussion is that it asks very good questions...
  • Publication Energy The Nuclear RAB Model
    June 12, 2018

    If the government decides to invest in further nuclear power station projects, it should obviously try to do so at minimum cost. The Secretary of State, Greg Clark, has suggested...
  • Publication Energy BREXIT and its implications for the British energy market
    April 24, 2018

    Of all the contributions Britain has made over the four decades of membership, the creation of the Internal Energy Market (IEM) stands out....
  • Video Energy The Cost of Energy Review and Technical Change
    April 18, 2018

    Presentation for BEIS "Towards Successful Commercialisation" event
  • Publication Regulation RIP RPI-X Regulation - OFWAT and OFGEM nail down the coffin
    April 17, 2018

    RPI-X regulation has had a good run. It was a deceptively simple idea: fix the prices and leave everything else to the companies and the markets to sort out how best to maximise profits by minimising costs. That simplicity was its great strength...
  • Video Energy Burn Out - The endgame for fossil fuels
    March 6, 2018

    A summary of my new book now available in paper back. March 2018 by Yale University Press.
  • Publication Water Water Boarding
    February 14, 2018

    The water industry is in play - with the regulators, and with the politicians. Labour proposes to renationalise the water companies, and the government and the regulators are determined to toughen up the regulation to show that privatisation works for...
  • Video Water Water Boarding
    February 14, 2018

    The water industry is in play - with the regulators, and with the politicians. Labour proposes to renationalise the water companies, and the government and the regulators are determined to toughen up the regulation to show that privatisation works for...
  • Video Energy Peak oil demand and long run oil prices by Dale and Fattouh: a critique
    February 12, 2018

    The challenge of climate change has left the oil companies on the back foot. What do they do? They are beholden to their shareholders, who look to their dividends and in many cases treat them as proxies for utilities. Those dividends are built on oil...
  • Publication Energy Peak oil demand and long run oil prices by Dale and Fattouh: a critique
    January 24, 2018

    The challenge of climate change has left the oil companies on the back foot. What do they do? They are beholden to their shareholders, who look to their dividends and in many cases treat them as proxies for utilities. Those dividends are built on oil...
  • Video Energy The cost of energy review
    November 22, 2017

    Cost of energy review: Presentation for Oxford Martin School
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