Unwinding the Death Spiral
Rooftop solar, net metering, and the perils of utilityspeak.
The Sierra Club accuses utilities of trying to snuff out rooftop solar. Attorney Donald Sipe recommends RTO/ISO markets for natural gas.
Frontlines & Op-Ed
Community Renaissance
When one age ends, another begins.
Community microgrids raise questions about the role of the utility franchise, versus the free market.
Don't Get Netflixed
The tide is turning. Are we planning for it – or hoping to stop it?
The central station system is the most cost-effective way to provide utility service, but that's beside the point. Customers don't care about 'utility service.'
Catching Fire
Climate policy heats up after the Great Recession.
GHG rules are coming soon. What happens next will depend on how states react.
Beyond the Meter
Protecting your base – while keeping options open.
The coming years will bring policy wrangling over distributed resources – what’s economic and what’s not.
Energy Efficiency Unknowns
Making efficiency programs work requires understanding real-world behavior.
Efficiency programs often fall short because they don’t account for human behavior. Systematic studies with randomized trials can bring better results.
Innovation Mandate
Meeting the just-and-reasonable standard in a time of change.
Who can say for sure if markets are working? The landscape keeps shifting.
What Solar Success Looks Like
Managing the transition to a solar-powered future.
Solar energy has a bright future as part of America’s electric power industry. An orderly and beneficial transition will depend on strategic action.
Are Competitive Solicitations Actually Competitive?
Bidding, transparency, and foregone conclusions in Big Sky Country.
PURPA wars are heating up again, and self-dealing conflicts are re-emerging. A Montana commissioner identifies weaknesses in supply procurement processes.
Productivity Plateau
A mature industry faces a worrying round of hype.
Are we languishing, or working off a 20th-century legacy? Gartner’s hype cycle suggests the latter, as new technologies start producing value.