The Power Brokers

The Struggle to Shape and Control the Electric Power Industry

By: Jeremiah D. Lambert

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

For more than a century, the interplay between private, investor-owned electric utilities and government regulators has shaped the electric power industry in the United States. Provision of an essential service to largely dependent consumers invited government oversight and ever more sophisticated market intervention. The industry has sought to manage, coopt, and profit from government regulation. In The Power Brokers, Jeremiah Lambert maps this complex interaction from the late 19th century to the present day.

Lambert's narrative focuses on seven important industry players: Samuel Insull, the principal industry architect and prime mover; David Lilienthal, chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), who waged a desperate battle for market share; Don Hodel, who presided over the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) in its failed attempt to launch a multiplant nuclear power program; Paul Joskow, the MIT economics professor who foresaw a restructured and competitive electric power industry; Enron's Ken Lay, master of political influence and market rigging; Amory Lovins, a pioneer proponent of sustainable power; and Jim Rogers, head of Duke Energy, a giant coal-fired utility threatened by decarbonization. Lambert tells how Insull built an empire in a regulatory vacuum and how the government entered the electricity marketplace by making cheap hydropower available through the TVA. He describes the failed overreach of the BPA, the rise of competitive electricity markets, Enron's market manipulation, Lovins' radical vision of a decentralized industry powered by renewables, and Rogers' remarkable effort to influence cap-and-trade legislation.

Lambert shows how the power industry has sought to use regulatory change to preserve or secure market dominance and how rogue players have gamed imperfectly restructured electricity markets. Integrating regulation and competition in this industry has proven a difficult experiment.

©2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc. (P)2015 Jeremiah D. Lambert

very interesting history of US power

and main influencers therein

especially good focus on capital market aspects

nice job 👍

the history of power utilities from Edison to 2010

this tells the story of electric.power in the US and the history of the related utility companies. it describes the success and failures of utility companies. I found it to.be very interesting and recommend it.

Excellent Evolutionary Discourse on US Utilities

Excellent analysis of a very complex history and evolution of the US utility enterprise. Gives a very clear economical and historical perspective of the interaction of the complex free market enterprise, bipartisan political regulatory framework and the leaders who have shaped the utility infrastructure. Without a clear understanding of these forces the transition to decarbonization of electrical utility infrastructure is not easy in US. The author gives a lucid analysis without any bias. Great read and Joe Barrett narration makes it lively. Highly recommend it to those interested in energy transition, power industry professionals and entrepreneurs entering power sectors that touches utility operating practices.

Excellent narrative history of the US electricity sector

I learned a lot about the history of the US electricity sector starting with Samuel Insull. This is a good summary of the key issues, presenting the key arguments of all sides without apparent bias. It doesn’t go much into technical details but I felt there were no major distortions/signification. Will be of interest for people involved professionally in the sector seeking some historical perspective. Narrator is quite good on the Audible version.

The government-utility thesis.

This is pertinent to the electricity markets today. It wasn't complete, but it was full of high level stories.

Big chunks of the story -like several short novels

This is nothing like a comprehensive history. But the pieces are interesting in themselves. It is another USA tale of entrepreneurs (often with flamboyant or otherwise very distinctive personalities) laying in segments of infrastructure and government mixes into it with major legislation or interventions at points. So, as in other lines of business, we wind up with an odd and quirky patchwork that grew up idiosyncratically, of private and public controls.

Tough subject matter

This is a good book dealing with a tough subject matter. It’s easy to get mad at all of the people discussed in the book when you look at it with hindsight.

Interesting narrative of a complex industry

Would you consider the audio edition of The Power Brokers to be better than the print version?

Narration felt a bit folksly given the serious, non-fiction subject matter. I thought the forced accents were a bit much. Also, while I'm sure it's clear in the visual presentation, there are several sections (i.e. the intro chapter) where the narrative structure is unclear.

What other book might you compare The Power Brokers to and why?

Some of the early chapters share some overlap with The Age of Edison, while some others overlap with The Quest. I have not read anything else with this type of longitudinal review of the electric industry.

What aspect of Joe Barrett’s performance would you have changed?

I am not sure the narrator was the best choice for this book. In particular, I would not have recommended assuming the presumed accents of the individuals quoted from in the book.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Some of the early chapters, particularly those discussing struggles versus public and private utilities, felt particularly subjective. There was much focus on the political and legal tensions of the era with relatively little discussion of the technical aspects of the industry, the societal impacts of electrification, or many other facets which I believe would have been interesting. I thought Mr. Lambert made the right decision in developing the narrative around specific figures in the electric industry, though the character development was not sufficient for me to shed a tear when [spoiler alert] Sam Insull was extradited nor when Ken Lay had a heart attack. I was closest to shedding a tear following the failure of the federal cap and trade legislation.

Any additional comments?

It is clear that Mr. Lambert has had significant experience and engagement in the industry. I appreciate his efforts in sharing some of his perspectives and experience as (I presume) an energy attorney in this book. It was an interesting perspective and many of the issues present in the book are echoed in utility regulation today.