Germany's Energiewende
Lessons learned for U.S. utilities – drawn from first-person fact-finding.
Policy experts travel to the continent to get a first-hand view on the lessons the U.S. utilities should take away from Germany’s rush to renewables.
Strategy & Planning
Wired Together
For DATC, grid expansion is a team effort.
An interview with key executives of Duke-American Transmission Co.: Phillip Grigsby, president, and Randy Satterfield, executive vice president. Both also sit on DATC's Board of Managers.
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.
Why is Electricity Use No Longer Growing?
Demand growth has been declining steadily now for some 50 years. But why: Price? Self Generation? The Great Recession?
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.
Community Renaissance
When one age ends, another begins.
Community microgrids raise questions about the role of the utility franchise, versus the free market.
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.
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?
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.'
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.