電力産業의 市場化에 따른 法的 爭點과 課題 -美國과 EU의 經驗을 中心으로-

Abstract

Electricity is supplied in four stages: generation, transmission, distribution and retailing services. Traditionally, vertically integrated electric utilities have controlled all the stages for electricity supply, which is recognized as a natural monopoly. Electric utilities have been usually granted an exclusive regulatory franchise to provide electricity to customers within their territories. However, technical and economic development in this sector has provided grounds for the liberalization and deregulation of this mechanism as a necessary reform. In this changing environment, the vertical integration of electric companies should be broken down and open and non-discriminatory access to transmission networks should be provided. And the more anindustry is marketized and deregulated, the more important role competition should play in the market. So in the liberalized electric power market, the competition authority should enforce the antitrust law to ensure free and fair competition in lieu of regulation. In this article, the legal issues relevant to the marketization of the electric power industry were reviewed especially through the U.S. and Germany experiences.