Course # 36925 Section Number 1 Day(s) W- F Time(s) 9:00am-11:50am Term Spring 2026 Specialization Energy & Environmental Policy Markets & Regulation Syllabus Syllabus 3/24/25 In many other countries, government owns and operates utilities as a public service. The United States largely has chosen a different path, especially with respect to energy utilities: permitting private companies to provide these essential services, subject to extensive regulation. For many decades, exclusive monopolies dominated the space. The last several decades have seen the rise of competition in both the wholesale and retail space. But this shift has taken hold in only parts of the United States, while in other jurisdictions consumers still do not have the right to choose their supplier and the transmission and even the generation of power remains largely monopolized. The result has been a patchwork that evinces little uniform national policy, and still is largely regulated by state governments despite the regional, interstate characteristics of energy. This course explores the forms and institutions of utility regulation in the United States, with a focus on electricity. It provides a critical introduction to the design of electricity markets that were created in the twentieth century and iterated upon ever since. Along the way, students will hear first hand from practitioners and experts as guest lecturers, while learning how a once mundane field has become the cutting edge of emergent technologies and social mandates like decarbonization. Notes This class will meet W/F every other week. Class will meet on the following dates: March 25th and 27th, April 8th and 10th, April 22nd and 24th, May 6th and 8th. Recent News More news Student Profile: Maria Villamizar Londono Wed., July 16, 2025 Q&A: Assistant Professor Erin Kelley on Her Work in Program Evaluation, International Development, and With the World Bank Wed., July 09, 2025 University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy and Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth Launch New Pathbreaking Master’s Program in Climate and Energy Policy Tue., July 08, 2025 Upcoming Events More events Get to Know Harris! A Virtual Information Session Tue., July 22, 2025 | 11:00 AM Harris Summer Campus Visit Mon., July 28, 2025 | 10:00 AM Harris School of Public Policy 1307 E 60th St Chicago, IL 60637 United States Civic Leadership Academy 2026 Virtual Information Session Wed., July 30, 2025 | 12:00 PM
January 22, 2025 Q&A: Professor Ryan Kellogg on "The End of Oil" and the Future of the Global Energy Market