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Electric Service Becomes Cheaper

On Tuesday, the Labor Department released the Consumer Price Index data for September. It shows electric utility service continues to become cheaper inflation-adjusted.

Nationally, the CPI overall went up 1.5 percent since September 2015. But the CPI electricity went up just 0.1 percent during the period.

The gap between the CPI overall and the CPI electricity was 1.4 percent.

In the Northeast, the CPI overall went up 1.3 percent. But the CPI electricity went up just 0.3 percent.

Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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Local Financing Benefits U.S. Utilities

Banks, Utilities Find Natural Fit

Local banks are still an under-utilized resource for electric utilities, despite the role these banks played historically. Regional and local banks are often healthier than big banks, according to the Federal Reserve.
Byline: 

Julie Cannell

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Success Strategies in New Japanese Electric Power Market

Part 3 in a Series on Electric Power in Japan

The pace of learning must accelerate so that players in the new Japanese electric power market are prepared to succeed. For retail entrants, the key will be to diversify, in both the retail and wholesale portions of their business.
Byline: 

Glenn George and Hans-Martin Ihle

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The New Standard Offer

Impact of Robust Customer Engagement

It's not just residential customers. Commercial customers need to be engaged more vigorously and analytically by utilities as competition increases along with customers’ expectations.
Byline: 

Austin Whitman

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Rethinking Rate Design

Berkeley Lab’s Discussion with Five Experts

Five of our industry's top thought leaders weigh in on the white-hot controversy of rate design as utilities and regulators plot a course for electricity's future.
Byline: 

Lisa Wood, Ross Hemphill, John Howat, Ralph Cavanagh and Severin Borenstein

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Energy People: D.C. PSC Staff

We talked with seven staff members of the District of Columbia Public Service Commission

Commission staffs work behind the scenes, without much recognition, to make utility regulation effective. To hear some of their stories, we talked with seven staff members of the D.C. PSC.
Byline: 

D.C. PSC Staff, with Steve Mitnick

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Bob Flexon: Leadership Lyceum Podcast Summary

Five-Year Anniversary Conversation with Dynegy CEO Bob Flexon

Dynegy's CEO takes stock at his fifth anniversary with the company. Read excerpts of his interview here, then download the podcast for the entire conversation with Tom Linquist, the widely-recognized expert in executive assessment and leadership development.
Byline: 

Bob Flexon, with Tom Linquist

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The Way We Live, and Renewables

When and Where DG Penetration is Miniscule, What Then?

As fast-growing as it is, rooftop solar will remain a rarity among large proportions of the American public. Which presents a real problem to utilities and utility regulators. Perhaps this is why utility-scale has such appeal.
Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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