Review by Choice Review
Cowing (SUNY Binghamton) and McFadden (MIT) present a detailed comparative analysis of two models of residential energy consumption-the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Residential Energy Consumption model and the Electric Power Research Institute Residential End-Use Energy Planning System model. As might be expected from the noted authors, this is an authoritative and thorough work. After a general discussion of energy use modeling, microsimulation, and criteria for comparing models, the authors present the results from running the two models under three different sets of policy assumptions. A final section discusses the implications for the construction and use of models and for energy policy. This book is so clearly written that even a serious undergraduate could follow most of the text. However, the key assumption that electricity prices will rise more slowly than oil and gas prices makes the actual forecasts of the models suspect. It is recommended only for graduate collection in energy economics or econometric modeling because of the highly specialized subject matter.-W.S. Peirce, Case Western Reserve University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
