UTILITIES, ENVIRONMENTAL EFFICIENCY, AND CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY SURROUNDING INNOVATIVE RATE DESIGN.

In this paper, we argue that some businesses, such as utility companies, have responsibilities above and beyond those expounded by Friedman's analysis. Namely, certain companies are in positions that require adopting particular innovative strategies and innovative solutions that serve efficiencies that benefit their customer base and the environment. In doing so, we assess quality management principles and argue that CLEP is an example of an innovative rate design that lowers CO2 byproduct, reduces the cost for utilities by rendering peaking plants obsolete, and gives ratepayers an accurate reflection of the cost-of-energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]