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Fortnightly Magazine - January 2013

Digest

(January 2013) Dominion Virginia Power contracts Alstom for HRSGs at 1,300-MW Brunswick County station; Entergy acquires KGen plants; San Diego Gas & Electric installs new outage management system; ChargePoint enters reseller agreement with Service Solutions; Saft to install battery storage project at High Wind project in Saskatchewan; NRG’s eVgo finalizes plans for California charging network; plus contracts and announcements from ABB, ADT, Elster, Itron, ElectroIndustries, Opower, Panasonic, FirstEnergy, PacifiCorp, and others.

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Setting a New Tone

Leading strategic change in the utility C-suite.

Changing corporate strategy is more difficult for utilities than for companies in many industries. Success calls for leadership on seven fronts.

Byline: 

Robert Spencer and Kellye Walker

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Rates, Reliability, and Region

Customer satisfaction and electric utilities.

The conventional wisdom about utility spending is correct, but key factors affecting customer satisfaction aren't obvious—and are tricky to control.

Byline: 

William P. Zarakas, Philip Q Hanser, and Kent Diep

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DSM in the Rate Case

A regulatory model for resource parity between supply and demand.

Integrated resource planning must level the field for both supply- and demand-side resources. Commissions in several states are showing the way.

Byline: 

Brian Hedman and Jill Steiner

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Smart Grid at a Crossroads

Refining the business case for advanced  distribution investments.

As utilities plan their capital budgets for the next few years, investments in advanced distribution systems face an uncertain future. Customers question the value—and propriety—of some programs, while long-term strategic goals depend on seamless integration. What will be the path forward for smart grid technology?

Byline: 

Michael T. Burr

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Very Roughly Commensurate

Analyzing the Order 1000 comply filings from non-RTO regions.

Last fall, utilities across the country began filing tariffs with FERC to explain how they’ll comply with Order 1000. That’s quite a handful, but maybe not a stretch for the RTOs. Not so for the non-RTO regions.

Byline: 

Bruce W. Radford

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March of the Microgrids

Technology is changing the game. Is your utility ready?

Although today microgrids serve a tiny fraction of the market, that share will grow as costs fall. Utilities can benefit if they plan ahead.

Byline: 

Stephen Schneider

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Transactions (January 2013)

Entergy acquires Kgen gas-fired plants in Arkansas and Mississippi; TransCanada buys BP share of Alberta gas storage facility; PSE acquires Tenaska plant; AEP issues $850 million in debt; Duke units float $650 million in bonds; plus debt issues by NextEra, Southern Company, Entergy, and others totaling nearly $3.2 billion.

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People (January 2013)

Sempra board names Debra Reed chairman; Entergy utilities and FENOC appoint new CEOs; Rep. Heath Shuler becomes Duke’s federal affairs v.p.; Dominion gets new CIO; NARUC names new officers; plus executive appointments at Constellation, ITC Holdings, Gas Technology Institute, and others.
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