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Strategy & Planning

Fueling America's Economic Engine

New energy economy also relies on some old fossil friends.

It has not been public investments in sustainable fuels and modern tools that have led to the re-awakening of the U.S. economy. Rather, it’s been mostly private investment in shale gas development that has led to new capital formation, infrastructure development and jobs galore.
Byline: 

 Ken Silverstein

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The End of an Age

Survival in the new market requires embracing new technologies and practices.

New technologies are opening the utility domain to innovation and competition. Traditional utilities will shrink as outsourcing providers and competitors grow. Survival in this new market requires embracing new technologies and practices.
Byline: 

Charles E. Bayless

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Community Renaissance

When one age ends, another begins.

Community microgrids raise questions about the role of the utility franchise, versus the free market.
Byline: 

Michael T. Burr, Editor-in-Chief

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Toward a 21st Century Grid

Producing value with advanced distribution management systems.

Changing demands from regulators, customers, and shareholders are driving utilities toward better operational technologies to manage an increasingly complex grid. Advanced distribution management systems (ADMS) promise nearly real-time operational insight for maintaining reliability, safety, and security.
Byline: 

Nicholas Abi-Samra, et al.

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Customer First

Is the current regulatory compact in anyone’s best interests?

Serving customers’ needs should be a top priority for power companies, irrespective of the regulatory construct and business model. Transformation doesn’t change this basic fact, but how do we break the model without breaking the system?
Byline: 

Charles Dickerson, Darren Brady, and Jamie Wimberly

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Don't Get Netflixed

The tide is turning. Are we planning for it – or hoping to stop it?

The central station system is the most cost-effective way to provide utility service, but that's beside the point. Customers don't care about 'utility service.'
Byline: 

Michael T. Burr, Editor-in-Chief

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The Innovator's Dilemma

Assessing the risks and rewards of distributed energy strategies.

To embrace change or fight it? The choice to either act or wait and see is fraught with complexity.
Byline: 

Hugo van Nispen

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Opening the Black Box

A new approach to utility asset management.

Creating a dynamic statistical approach to designing an overall strategy for utility asset management.
Byline: 

Charles D. Feinstein and Jonathan A. Lesser

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Power Breakfast

Fortnightly’s Executive Roundtable considers industry options and risks.

Fortnightly recently convened a group of senior operations executives from a variety of companies to discuss current trends in the U.S. power industry. Their comments reflect a mixed outlook on the industry’s transitionary changes.
Byline: 

Michael T. Burr

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