Fortnightly July 2015 Digital Edition
Submitted by meacott on Thu, 2015-07-09 13:48
Wind of Change Challenging Utilities
Elon Musk’s appearance at the Edison Electric Institute’s annual convention was a “wind of change” moment.
The industry is coming to terms, or trying to come to terms, with new forces that are challenging it as a business proposition in a way that it hasn’t been challenged in a history of more than 100 years.
Open-Access Chronicles: The Backstory Behind Electric Restructuring
Part 2: The Art of the Deal
By 1997, Peco employed some 21 registered lobbyists in Pennsylvania, almost more than any other single company: to push through favorable bills to restructure the state’s electricity marketplace.
Distribution Optimization: Ready for Takeoff
Part 2: Key choices on the way forward.
Integrated Distribution Planning (IDP) – much like its bulk power system cousin, Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) – provides a useful starting point for regulators and utilities to begin thinking about how to optimize the distribution system.
Piggybacking on the Grid
Why net energy metering is unfair and inefficient.
While customers may have reached a “net zero” threshold on energy, they are a large net negative on very expensive grid services.
How Reliable Is Your Microgrid?
An insurer’s perspective on risk drivers for distributed resources.
From an insurance perspective, what happens if an entire microgrid should fail to perform?
EPA's Clean Power Plan
Charting a Path Forward
With respect to the Clean Power Plan, the question is whether EPA will address the major issues and reinforce its positions in advance of the anticipated legal challenges.
Smart Gas Investment
As a bridge to a low-carbon future, natural gas can’t – and shouldn’t – meet every need.
Some describe natural gas generation as the “Swiss army knife” of technologies, as it can meet a variety of electric system needs. Yet while a Swiss army knife can prove handy, we don’t often use it when we have access to a well-equipped toolbox. It can introduce unnecessary costs and unacceptable risks.
New York Takes the Lead
No proposal is as radical – or as well thought out – as REV.
If the New York Rev is fully implemented, utility earnings would depend more on creating value for customers and achieving policy objectives.