Brokers of Power: The Financialization of the US Electricity System

A detailed look at the financial interests impacting the energy transitionThe twenty-first century has seen major transformations in the US electricity sector-but while the use of coal power wanes and the need for renewable energy becomes more urgent, financial actors maintain a complicating influence on the trajectory of energy transition.Brokers of Power identifies changing patterns of investment intertwined with the shift from state-regulated electricity monopolies to a market-driven price model and the embrace of wind and solar hookups to the grid. Drawing from case studies such as catastrophic Winter Storm Uri that hit Texas in 2021 and in-depth interviews with people working in the electricity and financial sectors, Conor Harrison reveals how the various entanglements of private equity, investment banking, and financial modeling are shaping the future and raising the costs of this vital infrastructure.Today's financial firms, he shows, are engaged in the electricity industry beyo