Résumé (EN)

Worldwide, for the last two decades, energy network industries have undergone major changes in terms of industrial organization and competitiveness. Led by a combination of economic, technological, political and ideological forces, these industries are now less and less protected and controlled by governments. After restructuring reforms in the transportation, telecom and natural gas sectors, deregulatory initiatives have been taken in the electric power industry to eliminate traditional constraints and protectionism. A new era has emerged : in some segment of the value chain, electric monopoly activities are now open to competition. There is lively debate about whether these experiments will succeed and how they should be conducted. In several industrial sectors, especially in networks industries, monopolies are regarded as either directing or delaying innovations. There is an obvious link between the form of industrial organization and the dynamic of technological progress. Thus, one concern is raised : the role of technology in the new emerging structure of electric industries and more precisely, its contribution to change monopolistic situations in various activities. With the deregulatory reforms, the influence of new technologies on the current evolution of the power sector seems to be highly relevant. In this paper, we will focus on the relationship between innovation and industrial organization in electric power industry. In the first part, we will discuss the theoretical impact of new technologies on industrial organization and vice-versa, keeping in mind that technological progress’ dynamic is different in a regulated market than in a competitive one. Then, in the second part, we will study the evolution of power generating system towards new highly efficient distributed generation units. These technological improvements might revolutionize not only generation activity but the whole power industry. Finally, we will present the case of gas microturbines to underline the drawing forces and obstacles of the development of some small generators on site.