Two utilities embrace technology and innovation.
Matt Mooren (Partner, Global Energy and Utilities), David Cherney, Ph.D (Energy Industry Advisor), and David Groarke (Managing Consultant) are engaged in energy industry consulting at PA Consulting Group. Their expertise covers power market economics and operations, asset valuation, contract negotiations, and mergers and acquisitions, along with litigation, regulatory, and legislative support.
For more than a year electric utilities have heard warnings of an impending and rapid increase in rates, driven by a loss of retail electric sales without a commensurate change in tariffs and revenue requirements. The premise of this alarming tale starts with utility customers, who have begun with increasing momentum to switch to distributed generation and energy efficiency, (with storage not far behind), causing electric sales to plunge and eroding utility earnings to the point of failure. Many believe the handwriting is on the wall - that this "death spiral" is inevitable. That's a clever narrative, to be sure. Yet the premise fails to account for regional differences, policy changes, technological advancements, and economic realities. Most importantly, the narrative ignores the history of electric utilities - how they have managed time and again to to adjust successfully over the years to the ups and downs of markets and regulatory policy.