Ben Kodres-O’Brien reviews Sandeep Vaheesan's new book, "Democracy in Power: A History of Electrification in the United States." The book explores the dominance of corporate interests in electricity generation, advocating for a more democratic approach to decarbonization.
Few books summarize the policy changes that led to restructuring so succinctly and comprehensively as Democracy in Power. Cost pressures for regulated rate increases—a profit squeeze—in the mid-twentieth century set the stage for this disaggregation of functions that defines the business today.
Understanding the scale of the problem of governing electricity, and its role in the historical development of the US political system, allows us to appreciate more fully the challenge of Democracy in Power. Electricity demand growth today has come roaring back, largely driven by data centers performing energy-intensive computational procedures. With the partial exception of the switch from one fossil-fuel to another, there has moreover never been a true energy transition in the US electricity mix.