Conclusions
This case study has demonstrated how the strategic conduct of the generators included using accounting to produce change in the structure, knowledgeability and processes of the market. The case study also shows that the concept of a dialectic of control allowed generators within the electricity generation industry to demand reconstruction and revision of the market structure relative to investment. The paper also demonstrates how the Government and regulators were forced to take the concerns of the generators seriously due to an investment hiatus. Rather than mobilising their resources, the generators held their capital back. The need for resources to tackle emissions provided the industry with sufficient evidence to force the Government to consider the problem of energy as not just one of the price paid by consumers, but also of long-term supply and environmental sustainability, demanding further investment. The knowledgeability of the generators also played an essential role in effecting change in the rules and structures of the markets within which they operate - rules and resources that impact investment directly. However, recent changes in the energy markets arising from the falling prices of oil, and pressure for renewable resources, means the value and use of capital budgeting by managers and the Government should be kept under observation by researchers to enable the structuration processes in accounting practice to be understood more fully, particularly in industrial contexts.
