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Strategy & Planning

Playing Russian Roulette

Moscow's ratification of the Kyoto protocol could pose problems for the United States.

It could mark the biggest bungle of the last two administrations: the decision to walk away from the Kyoto Protocol rather than stay and negotiate to U.S. advantage. No one thought Russia would sign and put the treaty in force. But now that Russia's ratification appears imminent, policy wonks in America are scrambling to assess the impact.
Byline: 

Richard Stavros

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Perspective: Don't Fence Me Out

Hard-and-fast ring-fencing rules are not the best way to maintain order in the partially deregulated utility sector.

In times of stress due to financial setbacks or pending merger issues, regulatory ring-fencing or internal company structural separation can serve a beneficial purpose. But beware! Predicting the future is an impossible task: Utility regulators should hesitate before putting policies in place today that limit managerial discretion in the future, based upon the belief that they possess that ability.
Byline: 

Steve Fetter

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The Growth Divide

Will a back-to-basics strategy meet investor expectations?

The debate over how utilities should honor their obligation to stockholders is an issue that is coming to the fore with greater force. But this time there seems to be quite a difference of opinion over strategy — or so we found in our annual finance issue.
Byline: 

Richard Stavros

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Outsourcing, Reliability, and IT: When will the Three Meet?

How to make sure your outsourcing partner works as an extension of your IT organization.

It is imperative that the CIS manager treats the outsourcing partner team as an extension of his own staff. Good working relationships between the client and the on-site partner team go a long way to ensure processes that provide reliability and security are adequately followed.
Byline: 

Rajiv Bahl

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Outsourcing & IT as a Strategic Option

Special ECM Section

In this quarterly ECM section, a series of articles in Fortnightly reviews the different outsourcing and IT options that are available and what utilities should consider before adopting outsourcing and IT technologies.
Byline: 

Richard Stavros

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Coal: Paying a King's Ransom

What's causing price volatility, and will it last?

The long period of sub-full-cost pricing in the 1990s caused great rationalization in the coal industry, leaving a much healthier and sensible market. One consequence of this is that the floor price for coal in most regions has risen about 25 percent in the last few years. With natural gas prices expected to remain high for some time, those coal markets where ready capacity is at current demand levels will see steadily high prices.
Byline: 

Andy Roberts and Gary L. Hunt

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Global Warming: The Gathering Storm

Russia resurrects the Kyoto Protocol and the prospect of either mandatory CO2 emissions cuts for U.S. utilities, or the start of a global trade war.

Once an opponent of the Kyoto Protocol, Russia is set to ratify it later this year. Will the growing alliance between Russia and the EU force the United States to satisfy the terms of Kyoto?
Byline: 

Peter J. Fontaine, Esquire

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MISO: Building The Perfect Beast

Seams, holes, and historic precedent challenge the Midwest ISO's evolution.

As it addresses problems that contributed to last August’s blackout, the Midwest ISO struggles with staffing, “grandfathered” service agreements, and integration issues.
Byline: 

Michael T. Burr

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