Electric power utilities around the world have been experiencing restructuring since the 1980s. The objectives of power system restructuring are to introduce competition in the electric power industry and to provide more choices to market participants in the way they trade electricity and ancillary services. The direct consequence of the restructuring is the separation of the conventional vertically integrated utilities into independent generation, transmission and distribution companies. Economic segregation and service unbundling have changed the mechanism of conventional system planning and operation. The expected benefits of power system restructuring are cheaper electricity through competition and innovation, and improved generation and planning efficiency and economies. However, the restructuring of power systems has been accompanied by some problems, including capacity shortage, transmission congestion, price volatility, and reduced system reliability. Load management has re-emerged as an important element in fine-tuning the reliability and price in restructured power systems.

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