Technical efficiency and impacts of deregulation: An analysis of three functions in U.S. electric power utilities during the period from 1992 through 2000

The main purpose of this study is to examine the impacts of deregulation on technical efficiency and its changes over time for large-scale U.S. electric power utilities during the period from 1992 through 2000. We analyze the efficiency of three individual functions, i.e., generation, transmission/distribution, and general administration, and the deregulatory impacts on each of them. In order to implement the analysis, we estimate an input distance function by using a stochastic frontier analysis. The results indicate that there is a significant impact of deregulation on efficiency in the generation and general administration functions, while no effects are observed in the transmission/distribution function.