Price Discrimination and the Adoption of the Electricity Demand Charge
研究了1905-1915年间美国电力公司面对自发电竞争时，采用需求电费费率结构作为价格歧视机制的原因，而非传统认为的峰值负荷定价误用。
Between 1905 and 1915, as state price regulation became widespread, electric utilities in the United States faced severe competition. The primary source of electricity for industry then was not utilities but self-generation by the user in an “isolated plant.” The demand-charge rate structure first became widespread during this period. The demand-charge rate structure has been interpreted as a misapplication of the peak-load pricing principle, a view which has made its popularity a puzzle. Instead it was adopted as a sophisticated mechanism which institutionalized profit-maximizing price discrimination given the competition from isolated plants.