| Fortnightly

EPRI Explores Augmented Reality to Improve Grid Reliability

Innovating Like Edison: Utility workers with superpowers?

Smart meters are a reality but are smart poles and smart helmets right behind them? Often in the form of wearable computers or “wearables,” devices are potentially able to communicate from an endless variety of devices in the form of visual cues and data, sound, and even information based on touch.

Byline:

John Simmins

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High Performance Transmission Conductors Are Improving Grid Efficiency

And why it matters.

Leveraging high performance conductors has become particularly important today. They not only serve to improve efficiency and reliability, they also allow us to increase the capacity of existing transmission lines so we can access cleaner sources of generation.

Byline:

Dave Bryant

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Community Solar: States Are Testing Designs While Driving Forward

Minnesota, Oregon, New York case studies

Minnesota, Oregon and New York are certainly not alone in testing shared solar models. But the developments in each state in spring 2016 should shed light on the ability to deliver on the promise of community solar.

Byline:

Andrew Moratzka and Sara Bergan

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Tax Implications of NEM Successor Policies

Federal income tax treatment has nothing to do with pricing sale of electricity to utility or customer.

Advocates for net metering argue that if the electricity delivered by the customer to the utility is credited at the full retail rate, the amount is not taxable, but if credited at less than the full retail rate, such as under a feed-in tariff or a value of solar tariff, the IRS might count the credited amount as taxable income. A tax expert fills us in on the other side of the story.

Byline:

Alex Zakupowsky

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Chasing the Uncatchable

Why trying to fix mandatory capacity markets is like trying to win a game of Whack-A-Mole (Parts I & II)

FERC has little to show for more than a decade of tinkering with mandatory capacity markets.

Byline:

Delia D. Patterson and Harvey L. Reiter

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FERC Chasing the Uncatchable

Trying to fix mandatory capacity markets like trying to win at Whack-A-Mole, Part II

The proposals do not mandate participation in mandatory auction markets, much less try to set artificial floors on seller bids.

Byline:

Delia Patterson and Harvey Reiter

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Illinois Approach to Regulating Distribution Utility of the Future

Annual formula rate is working to stabilize distribution ratemaking.

A lot has been said of alternative ratemaking approaches. The clearest, most direct path is what has been happening in Illinois, a success by any reasonable measure for a distribution utility.

Byline:

Ross Hemphill and Val Jensen

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The British Electricity Model: 25 Years of Experience

Should We Follow U.K.’s Lead?

British price cap regulation quickly became the international gold standard for regulation. It looked so simple. But if the purpose was to provide a dramatically different and less expensive electricity experience, it failed.

Byline:

Leonard Hyman and William Tilles

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Has Retail Choice Delivered on its Promises?

Participation rates, customers’ bills, meaningful choice

Retail choice might have reduced retail electricity prices if it allowed customers to escape stranded costs, but that didn’t happen.

Byline:

Laurence Kirsch and Mathew Morey

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Remarkable Energy Careers: Jim Fama

We talked with Jim Fama, retiring and on his last day at EEI, about his remarkable career.

Jim Fama was the Edison Electric Institute’s vice president for energy delivery since 2002.

Byline:

Jim Fama, with Steve Mitnick

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