Fortnightly Magazine - July 1 2003
Technology Corridor
Virtual reality comes of age in the power industry.
Technological breakthroughs in power generation, pollution control, waste management, renewable resource applications, and many similar areas are at the forefront of advances in developing, managing, and delivering public utility products. However, technology that is more often associated with computer games and Hollywood blockbusters is taking hold in the industry, and its impact may well be as great as any of the more well known technologies.
Off Peak
Surfside reading for the energy workaholic.
The Last Energy War: The Battle Over Utility Deregulation
Utility deregulation is the biggest consumer rip-off since the S&L debacle, activist Harvey Wasserman argues. He says electric competition has wider and more deadly implications: costs running to trillions of dollars, environmental threats, and the further delay of renewables like wind and solar energy.
Reinventing Electric Utilities: Competition, Citizen Action, and Clean Power
Will the Hydrogen Economy Take Off?
Fueling the Hydrogen Economy: Energy Independence Now
Predicting California Deman Response
How do customers react to hourly prices?
As California embarks on a Statewide Pricing Pilot (SPP) for residential and small commercial (200 kW) customers, policymakers and participants in the proceedings are asking several questions:
California Experiment: Dynamic Pricing for the Mass Market
Will the state launch a full-scale rollout of dynamic tariffs?
A pilot program in California is putting dynamic pricing and advanced metering to the test.
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved a Statewide Pricing Pilot (SPP) in March,1 at a cost of approximately $10 million, including metering, project planning, management, evaluation, and concurrent market research on non-pilot participants focused on customer preferences for rate options.2
The SPP has the following objectives:
Frontlines
Will the Hydrogen Economy Take Off?
People
New Hires:
Progress Energy shareholders re-elected Edwin B. Borden, James E. Bostic Jr., David L. Burner, Richard L. Daugherty, and Richard A. Nunis as Class II directors of the company. They will serve three-year terms.
Maryland Gov. Robert L. Erlich Jr. named state delegate Kenneth D. Schisler chairman of the Maryland Public Service Commission. Schisler succeeds Catherine I. Riley.