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Frontlines

'Markets' Test

We Called Them 'Markets.' Now We're Testing Them.

We're enamored of free markets, particularly in the nineties. But power markets cannot come close to emulating authentic competition. Why? They cannot satisfy the basic conditions of competition taught in microeconomics 101.
Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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Why Innovation?

Also, What, Who, Where, When?

Why is innovation all the rage? Yes, continual improvement always makes sense. But the dramatic changes being talked about, are they that urgent? Let's recognize how much customers vary in their electricity wants and needs, within service territories, between territories, and between states.
Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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In Only the Second Period of Low Real Rates and Bills

How Should We Manage and Regulate Now?

Electric bills this March were just a tick off the pace of the all-time low. In this unique period, how should we regulate utilities? Should we correct course? Should we allow greater growth of non-fuel costs to – let’s say – buy some more reliability?
Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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Hiding Electricity's Complexity

Should We Lift the Curtain?

Almost nobody realizes the most advanced technology helps us manage grids, operate plants, integrate renewables, route flows, limit peak demand, and restore service after storms. Should we lift the curtain covering the network’s complexity?
Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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The Way We Live, and Renewables

When and Where DG Penetration is Miniscule, What Then?

As fast-growing as it is, rooftop solar will remain a rarity among large proportions of the American public. Which presents a real problem to utilities and utility regulators. Perhaps this is why utility-scale has such appeal.
Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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Legacy and Generations

We’ll Soon Hand You the Baton

The pasts and futures of automobiles and electricity are remarkably similar. They first inspired a generation. That generation’s grandchildren associate these venerable industries with environmental despoilment and technological obsolescence.
Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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Future Shocked

New uses for electricity doubtless on the horizon albeit unpredictable

One vision of future power: By 2040, most households had at least one Powered Immersion room, some two or three.
Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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