It is vital that governments resuscitate the important debate and large-scale work on external effects in the energy sectors of the 1980s and 1990s. Measured against the scale of the externalities discussed, the required funds for research are negligible. At the same time, such work needs to be managed tightly and focus on key issues with a view to contributing to better policy making in the context of the energy transitions under way. Disseminating and synthesising knowledge on some of the most salient features of the full costs of electricity provision is key to arriving, through the progressive internalisation of social costs, at better policies and more sustainable electricity mixes.