Democracy in Power

“Through an illuminating historical overview of a variety of struggles for public ownership of electricity (‘public power’) Vaheesan charts a course for what we now today often call ‘energy democracy’… .While there are already many useful historical accounts of electricity in the United States, Vaheesan’s stands apart with his laser focus on the long-standing struggles between private and public interests.” * Jacobin *“A feat of explanation. Most historians of electrification in the US have chosen to limit their subject matter…however, Vaheesan can zoom in and out of the local, regional, and national political conflicts that have shaped the evolution of the American electrostate across its century-and-a-half-long history…Few books summarize the policy changes that led to restructuring so succinctly and comprehensively as Democracy in Power.” * Phenomenal World *“Sandeep Vaheesan’s lively new book, Democracy in Power, [paints] a striking portrait of how federal, state, and local governments collaboratively built much of the U.S. electricity system over the first half of the twentieth century.” * Washington Monthly *“Vaheesan explores the history of public control of power systems in the United States, assessing how the United States has, at least partially, averted a net-zero oligarchy in power.” * Journal of Economic Literature *“Democracy in Power is a timely, urgent contribution to understanding the how and why of today’s power system operations. Vaheesan reveals the rarely told history of the electricity system as a site of struggle for public and community control. Democratizing the power sector is a story of David versus Goliath, but Vaheesan shows it can be a winnable fight—and maybe our best bet at building a decarbonized, livable world.” – Johanna Bozuwa | Climate and Community Project“An impassioned and historically informed case for making good on the promise of public power in the quest for a future without fossil fuels. Vaheesan persuasively argues that decarbonization should at last fulfill the hopes and plans of New Dealers to democratize power in the United States, and organize the production of electricity along sustainable lines.” – Eric Rauchway | author of “Why the New Deal Matters”

“In Democracy in Power, Sandeep Vaheesan shows how the history of US electrification can point us toward a decarbonized future. Anyone interested in the Green New Deal, consumer cooperatives, or the democratic promise of public power will find his clearly written policy analysis to be informative, intriguing, and inspiring.”

Sandeep Vaheesan is legal director of the Open Markets Institute. His popular writing has appeared in the Washington Post, New Republic, Atlantic, and Dissent.