The Energy Analyst’s Handbook

The electricity sector is undergoing a generational transformation. As we transition from fossil fuels to renewables to help fight climate change, we must reimagine business models, infrastructure, and the economic foundations of how the electricity system operates. Simultaneously, the rise of artificial intelligence and software, and robotic-driven automation is poised to drive a once-in-a-lifetime increase in global electricity demand, adding urgency and complexity to the transformation of the system that powers everything we do. The Energy Analyst’s Handbook provides a foundational, practical guide to how modern power systems work. It’s written for professionals entering the energy transition or interacting with it– analysts, consultants, policy staff, executives, and financiers– who need to quickly grasp the language, structure, and economic logic of the system that powers the world as we know it today, and what it will become tomorrow. As electricity demand surges and the technologies generating it shift, a new wave of professionals must understand the foundational systems that make this transition possible. Decodes how the electricity system actually works, from generation, through the grid, to the customer. Maps the businesses, technologies, and institutions that make up the sector: regulated and deregulated markets, power plant economics, and major generation technologies. Connects the sector's history to where it's heading, from its birth with Edison and Tesla to today’s key trends of decarbonization, electrification, and AI-driven demand growth.