Robert J. Michaels is professor of economics at California State University, Fullerton. He holds an A.B. from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles, both in economics.
His pas positions include staff economist at the Institute for Defense Analyses and various consultancies. He is an affiliate consultant with Tabors, Caramanis & Associates of Cambridge, Massachusetts, an international firm advising the power, gas, and telecom industries; and an adjunct scholar of the Cato Institute.
He writes extensively and consults on deregulation and competition in the electricity and natural gas industries. He has advised state commissions, electric utilities, power marketers, natural gas producers, pipelines, public interest groups, and governments on regulatory and antitrust matters. He has participated in electricity restructuring in California and other states, served as expert witness in utility mergers, and testified before state regulatory agencies, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the U.S. House Commerce Committee. His biweekly column "Power Moves" appears in New Power Executive and The Desk.
His writings on competition, market power, deregulation, and a range of restructuring issues have appeared in industry, academic, and legal publications. He has chaired and spoken at numerous conferences on emerging competition and trends in power and transmission markets. He is married to Victoria Michaels and resides in Anaheim, California.