Wind gains, but won’t soon alter the fuel mix.
Some power markets may be seeing possible signs of recovery. Spark spreads appear to have bottomed out, and reserve margins have begun to fall in some markets. As Figure 1 shows, recovery is uneven, with many regions still experiencing excess supply and a few regions with peak reserves under 10 percent.
Three reasons to make them a permanent part of U.S. energy policy.
For the past decade, the renewable energy industry and various branches of the federal government have engaged in an ungainly, enormously unproductive two-step on production tax credits (PTC) for renewable energy projects, and for wind projects in particular. The PTC can be transformed into a keystone of an effective energy environmental policy. However, to achieve this transformation, the misperceptions must be challenged.
Michael R. Yogg, who manages Putnam's Global Utilities Fund, explains what investors want from the sector.
Is the love affair with utility stocks cooling? A Standard and Poor’s equity research report in late May included a negative outlook for electric utilities: “We think the sector will underperform in 2006, weakened by the rising interest-rate environment,” the report said. But not all investors agree. We talked with veteran portfolio manager Michael R. Yogg of Putnam Investments, who revealed how the modern-day investor views the utilities sector.