Regulating Gas Liberalization: A Comparative Study on Unbundling and Open Access Regimes in the US, Europe, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan

Anton Ming-Zhi Gao

oct 2010 · Kluwer Law International B.V.

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This is the first book to analyze, in a comparative way, the detailed development of the unbundling and open access regimes across three continents. It is the author’s contention that these two legal forms should be more widely implemented than they are at present. In each of five substantial chapters – on the United States, Europe, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan – the author first focuses on the proposed or current laws and industrial practices on service, account, functional, legal and ownership unbundling and independent system operator, and then on those of different open access regimes (mainly including regulated and negotiated third party access), insofar as they have been developed in each location. Using empirical evidence from Europe, the United States, and Japan that a well-formulated and comprehensive liberalization can bring about more advantages than disadvantages, he shows how well-designed unbundling and open access regimes may accomplish the following: • inject much-needed competition into gas exploration, exploitation, import, production, and retailing; • reform and re-regulate non-competitive sectors such as transportation, distribution, and storage; • balance potential conflicts between energy security and competition; and • support interests such as environmental protection, energy rights, safety, and consumer protection.