Nuclear Innovation Is Not an Oxymoron

EPRI Podcast: Advanced Nuclear Looks Promising

Advanced nuclear technologies are closer to reality than you might think. To make a breakthrough, they'll need to provide significant advantages over current technologies, such as operating at low pressures and very high temperatures, and including inherent safety features.

Perpetuating the California Dream

Leadership Lyceum Podcast: A conversation with Edison International CEO Pedro Pizarro

Edison International is the publicly traded holding company for Southern California Edison, the regulated utility, and a small array of non-regulated investments, plus Edison Energy. At $11.5 billion in annual revenue, and serving 15 million customers, the company is one of the largest utilities in the country.

Energy People: Arshad Mansoor

We talked with Arshad Mansoor, Senior Vice President, Research and Development for the Electric Power Research Institute

Arshad Mansoor is responsible for EPRI's portfolio of R&D and demonstration programs. He is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and is a member of the board of The Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC) at UNC Charlotte.

EES NORTH AMERICA

Covering the entire value chain of innovative battery and energy storage technologies, ees North America is the ideal platform for all stakeholders in the rapidly growing energy storage market. It takes place in the epicenter of the U.S. storage market: California. Co-located with Intersolar North America, ees North America provides the best opportunity to explore energy storage systems in combination with PV and beyond.

Utility's Role in Electricity's Future, Part II

Utility Execs Roundtable: We continued the conversation with execs from seven utilities in the Northeast who help lead their companies on future strategies

In part II of our roundtable, we discuss how new products and services are expected to create new revenue streams for utilities, augmenting the (slowly) declining traditional revenue.

Energy People: Rob Powelson

We talked with NARUC President, Commissioner Rob Powelson

Commissioner Powelson was installed as the 128th president of NARUC in November 2016.

Letter: Response to Cicchetti Re: Residential Demand Charges

A response to the article by Charles Cicchetti in our December 2016 issue

Charles Cicchetti's December 2016 article asserts TOU rates are a preferable alternative to demand charges for distributed energy resources (DER) customers. But TOU rates are not enough to maximize the benefits of DER.

Why Innovation?

Also, What, Who, Where, When?

Why is innovation all the rage? Yes, continual improvement always makes sense. But the dramatic changes being talked about, are they that urgent? Let's recognize how much customers vary in their electricity wants and needs, within service territories, between territories, and between states.

For Decades, Real Electric Price Has Fallen in South, Midwest, Northeast

If residential electricity had increased at the rate of general inflation since 1977, it would be around 13.66 cents per kilowatt-hour, over a penny higher than it is.

As we said in yesterday's column, the Labor Department just published December 2016's Consumer Price Index. The CPI for all consumer goods and services was up 2.1 percent from the prior December. The CPI for residential electric service was up 0.7 percent. 

The wide gap between the CPI for all goods and services and for electric service, 1.4 percent, means the real price for electricity fell significantly.