Energy regulation under Mexico's energy-sector reforms are of great interest to investors, since autonomous regulators—protected from political pressures and able to make and sustain technical decisions—can guarantee greater legal consistency than government authorities exposed to political pressures. The difficulty was finding an alternative model that ensured the institutional strengthening of the agencies without relinquishing too much control of the executive branch.

Fossil fuel subsidies have allowed energy exporting countries to distribute resource revenue, bolstering legitimacy for governments, many of which are not democratically elected. But subsidy benefits are dwarfed by the harmful consequences of encouraging uneconomic use of energy. Now, with consumption posing a threat to long-term exports, governments face a heightened need to raise prices that have come to be viewed as entitlements. While reforms of state benefits are notoriously politically dangerous, previous experience shows that subsidies can be rolled back without undermining government legitimacy — even in autocratic settings — given proper preparation.

Mexico’s 2013–2014 energy reform promises to bring the country’s economic drivers and regulatory institutions in line with the global practices of free market democracies. If successful, this development would be a 180-degree turn. The accomplishment of such realignment is hardly assured, however.

Information technology policy fellow Chris Bronk writes that cybersecurity threats to the U.S. energy industry and infrastructure are rising and require increased preparedness by the U.S. Army and Department of Defense.

This research discerns how municipal solid waste (MSW) composition influences the heating value and air pollution for the co-combustion of coal with MSW using five MSW composition scenarios, four of which were derived by a reduction of plastics, organics, paper, or a combination thereof, as compared to the national average MSW composition.

Countries around the Persian Gulf are falling behind with regard to renewables, both for technical and for political reasons. And they need to diversify — just like the rest of us — if they are going to keep local consumption from using up too much of the oil they would rather sell.

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Executive Summary

Key Findings

• Resolution…

This testimony was delivered before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on February 12, 2013.

 

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Testimony of Kenneth B. Medlock III James A. Baker, III, and Susan G. Baker Fellow in Energy and Resource Economics, and Senior Director, Center for Energy Studies James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy Rice University To the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Washington, D.C. February 12, 2013