Publications

May 1990 (Revised February 1993)
Teaching Note

Compagnie Generale D'Electricite, Teaching Note

By: W. Carl Kester

Keywords: Utilities Industry

July 2021
Article

Energy Efficiency and Electricity Reliability

By: Eliana Carranza and Robyn C. Meeks

Overloaded electrical systems are a major source of unreliable power. Using a randomized saturation design, we estimate the impact of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) on electricity reliability and household electricity consumption in the Kyrgyz Republic. Greater... View Details

Keywords: Energy; Technology Adoption; Green Technology; Consumer Behavior; Utilities Industry; Kyrgyzstan

May 2024
Article

Design of Off-Grid Lighting Business Models to Serve the Poor: Field Experiments and Structural Analysis

By: Bhavani Shanker Uppari, Serguei Netessine, Ioanna Popescu and Rowan P. Clarke

A significant proportion of the world's population has no access to grid-based electricity and so relies on off-grid lighting solutions. Rechargeable lamp technology is gaining popularity as an alternative off-grid lighting model in developing countries. In this paper,... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Developing Countries and Economies; Consumer Behavior; Poverty; Logistics; Business Model; Utilities Industry

September 2011
Teaching Note

Aguas Argentinas: Settling a Dispute (TN)

By: Louis T. Wells

Teaching Note for 705-019. View Details

Keywords: Business and Government Relations; Negotiation; Contracts; Rights; Strategy; Utilities Industry; Argentina; France

February 1990 (Revised April 1991)
Supplement

Central Maine Power Co.: Goals and Objectives Program (B)

By: Robert L. Simons

Keywords: Goals and Objectives; Programs; Utilities Industry; Maine

August 2007
Case

Satelite Distribuidora de Petroleo

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Andrea M.A.F. Minardi

Marcelo Alecrim, the owner of SAT, a gas distribution company in Brazil, envisioned many growth opportunities but lacked financial resources to pursue them. He was approaching an American private equity fund to raise money. Describes Alecrim's challenge in creating SAT... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Entrepreneurship; Private Equity; Growth and Development Strategy; Emerging Markets; Utilities Industry; Brazil

Educators

February 1990 (Revised April 1991)
Case

Central Maine Power Co.: Goals and Objectives Program (A)

By: Robert L. Simons

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Utilities Industry; Maine

March 2002
Teaching Note

Strategy of the Firm Under Regulatory Review: The Case of Chilectra TN

By: Rafael M. Di Tella and Alexander Dyck

Teaching Note for (9-702-025). View Details

Keywords: Utilities Industry; Chile

March 1987 (Revised August 1988)
Case

Public Service Co. of Oklahoma (A)

By: Michael Beer

Keywords: Utilities Industry

February 1982 (Revised June 1994)
Case

Boston Gas Co.: Winter 1980-81

By: Arthur Schleifer Jr.

Keywords: Negotiation; Forecasting and Prediction; Utilities Industry

31 Oct 2007
HBS Case

Climate Change Puts Heat on GMs

What is the responsibility of business regarding social issues? And how does that jibe with maximizing profits? In "UBS and Climate Change—Warming Up to Global Action?" Associate Professor Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Professor Forest Reinhardt present the... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Utilities; Utilities

11 Jun 2007
Lessons from the Classroom

Teaching the Next Generation of Energy Executives

You may think that being an energy executive—especially a manager in a leading oil company—might be the easiest job around. Just flip the production switch, and watch gas prices head toward $4 a gallon. But students enrolled in Harvard Business School professor Forest... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Utilities; Utilities

13 Apr 2015
Research & Ideas

3 Ways Firms Can Profit From Environmental Investments

In the course of her work, Rebecca Henderson meets business executives who don't address the threat of climate change because they don't believe that it exists. Her recommendation: They should consider investments in environmental sustainability anyway, assuming that... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Utilities; Utilities

November 2023
Supplement

'Care in Every Drop': Ayala Corporation and Manila Water (B)

By: Debora L. Spar, Paul Healy, Tricia Peralta and Julia Comeau

Since 1834, eight generations of the Ayala family have used their conglomerate to fund nation-building projects in the Philippines, including investments in tramcars, telecommunications, hospitals, and schools. In 1997, Ayala’s subsidiary, Manila Water, took control of... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Economic Growth; Social Entrepreneurship; Climate Change; Natural Resources; Crisis Management; Failure; Privatization; Social Issues; Urban Development; Adaptation; Infrastructure; Utilities Industry; Philippines