Date of Award
8-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Economics
Committee Chair/Advisor
Thomas W. Hazlett
Committee Member
Robert K. Fleck
Committee Member
Charles J. Thomas
Abstract
In most U.S. states, public utility regulation and legal ambiguity has deterred entry into electricity markets by microgrid developers. Since 2012, seven states have enacted statutes that alter the regulatory environment, either by exempting microgrid operators from public utility classification or by directing regulatory agencies to establish the interconnection and compensation frameworks that make entry viable. I empirically analyze the determinants and effects of state statutes that authorize freedom of entry for microgrid developers. Using a pooled panel OLS with state and year fixed effects on annual data for all 50 states and the District of Columbia from 2016 through 2024, I find that market size and customer density are the dominant predictors of new microgrid capacity across all specifications, while the effect of a statute on entry is mixed and inconclusive. Using a staggered difference-in-differences on a monthly panel from January 2010 through December 2025, I find significant reductions in the share of electricity sourced from out-of-state suppliers where adoption directly resolved the contracting barriers facing competitive developers, but no corresponding reduction in retail electricity prices.
Recommended Citation
Downes, Devon A., "Price, Property Rights, and Local Generation: A Transaction Cost Analysis of Microgrid Statutes" (2026). All Theses. 4853.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_theses/4853