Financial data raises doubts about whether deregulation benefits outweigh costs.
Meeting tomorrow’s power needs will pose tough choices.
Mandatory portfolio standards have different implications for different technologies.
Technology Corridor
Renewable Energy:
Mandatory portfolio standards have different implications for different technologies.
The federal government and several state governments are considering programs to increase the share of electricity produced by renewable generation resources to 20 percent or more. If these programs are implemented and pursued successfully, they will trigger a dramatic change in the role of renewable generation and the requirements placed upon it by the market.
Business & Money
Merchant plants now draw investors from three different worlds-each with its own agenda.
It's tempting to chalk up the recent bubble in merchant generation to just another industry cycle, but there's more to consider. Investment in the industry was far from even, leaving some regions teeming with unused peaking plants while other regions continue to struggle with a need for capital investment.
Commission Watch
FERC Versus Bankruptcy Jurisdiction:
Two recent articles in the 1 discussed conflicts that have emerged in the last 18 months over the respective jurisdictions of bankruptcy courts under the Bankruptcy Code2 and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) under the Federal Power Act.3 This occurs when a debtor seeks the bankruptcy court's approval under Section 365(a) of the code4 to reject a wholesale electricity sales contract that is a FERC-jurisdictional rate.
Perspective
How the filed-rate policy wreaks havoc- and what courts can do about it.
Like many venerable legal rules, the filed-rate doctrine is rarely questioned. Over the last century, it has served many important purposes. However, with deregulated wholesale electric power markets at the federal level and various degrees of deregulation across the states, both the doctrine's continued applicability and usefulness are suspect.
Power Measurement
What did LMPs tell us this summer in PJM's new neighborhood?
With one summer under its belt as a member of PJM, ComEd has been called a complete success by some, boring by others. On the whole, prices in the region were quite flat, and spreads between the 1,281 price nodes in the region were small to non-existent. In fact, the best opportunity for a generator to make money in this market was to export power to a neighboring market.
Letters to the Editor
To the Editor:
Robert Blohm's article, "Solving the Crisis in Unscheduled Power," () ignores a significant part of the power-scheduling paradigm-that is, it ignores transmission. Every power schedule not only includes load and generation but also a path to move the electricity between those points.
People
New Opportunities:
Jack Hawks, EPSA's current vice president of public affairs and planning, took on additional responsibilities as EPSA's acting vice president of policy. He replaced Julie Simon, who left the association to join Constellation Energy Group as a managing director. Hawks previously was vice president, Regulatory Policy, for PG&E National Energy Group.
Frontlines
Moscow's ratification of the Kyoto protocol could pose problems for the United States.
It could mark the biggest bungle of the last two administrations-the decision to walk away from the Kyoto Protocol rather than stay and negotiate to U.S. advantage. No one thought Russia would sign and put the treaty in force. But now that Russia's ratification appears imminent, policy wonks in America are scrambling to assess the impact.