Portfolio planning in the age of gas.
PUCs are concerned that a rapid shutdown of coal-fired plants will start a full-tilt dash to gas—similar to the one that caused bankruptcies among independent power producers in the late 1990s and early 2000s. But this time around, ratepayers and not IPP investors will be stuck with the risk, if utilities rush to add all that new gas-fired capacity to rate base.
Retrofitting early protected North Carolina ratepayers.
Ongoing litigation over EPA rules raises compliance risks and costs. North Carolina utilities, however, benefited from the state’s forward thinking.
A candid commentary on current topics in electric restructuring.
A no-holds-barred interview with the electric industry’s chief architect of wholesale electric market design.
Westinghouse Electric names former Progress Energy Executive as president and CEO. FirstEnergy makes numerous executive changes and appointments; Pepco hires new general counsel; plus executive appointments and announcements at AEP, PPL, PG&E, ITC Holdings, Dominion, EPRI, SEIA, and others.
How suppliers and generators can each gain from today’s historic low prices.
Gas-fired generators and suppliers alike can each share risk and reward from historic low prices with contracts that blend market and fixed prices
The jurisdictional battle rages on, with FERC and EPA squaring off against the states.
When Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays led an attack on the federal Springfield Armory in January 1787—the spark that ignited the federalist movement—he scarcely could’ve guessed that now, 225 years later, his spiritual descendants would still be fighting that very same battle.
The Homer City decision increases uncertainty—but rewards forward thinking.
The D.C. Circuit’s CSAPR ruling reinforces the benefits of planning ahead and keeping options open. A diverse portfolio strategy reduces risks and costs.
Interregional planning under FERC Order 1000
With no single entity in charge, transmission planning has plagued projects that span multiple regions. A new framework offers a solution.
Calpine signs PPA with Public Service Company of Oklahoma; TransCanada and Ontario PowerAuthority agree to develop 900-MW gas-fired power plant; Panda selects Siemens to build combined-cycle plant; Progress Energy retires coal plants dating from 1923; Southern Company and Turner acquire 30-MW PV project; PSO begins smart meter pilot rollout; Southern California Edison contracts with Corix to install smart meters; Iberdrola USA hires Burns and McDonnell to review grid infrastructure. Plus contracts and announcements from Itron, eMeter, Echelon, Quanta Services, DNV, Metadigm, Landis+Gyr, and others.