People
(August 2005) President Bush nominated Joseph Kelliher to chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Xcel Energy named Richard C. (Dick) Kelly CEO. And others...
One Fine Reliability Mess
Infrastructure isn't keeping pace. So how to "help" the market without killing it?
What's the right price signal to bring forth enough infrastructure to maintain reliability over the long haul? Moreover, if such a model exists, can it work without stifling competitive markets?
Guessing Mother Nature's Next Move
What can be done to improve weather prediction and load forecasts?
Improving the day-ahead weather and load forecast by just 1 degree Fahrenheit would have huge financial benefits for the industry.
Squeezing Scarcity From Abundance
California's pursuit of a centralized administrative solution in reliability hinders everyday operational issues.
California’s pursuit of a centralized administrative solution in reliability hinders everyday operational issues.
Grid Investment & Restructuring: Two Challenges, One Solution
FERC must align the immediate self-interest of profit-maximizing entities with its own view of what is in the public interest.
Two obstacles must be overcome to achieve true competitive markets: reversal of the long-term underinvestment in transmission, and greater clarity in the legal and regulatory environments. How can the industry make the most of a somewhat defensive regulatory posture?
The Fusion Reaction
How an environmentally friendly power source can solve the fossil-fuel supply-and-demand gap.
The challenge over the next several decades will be completion of an economically competitive fusion power plant. The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor is paving the way.
Power-Plant Cooling: How Many Fish Per kWh?
EPA flounders on the Clean Water rule, while producers tackle the real enemy—shortage.
The U.S. EPA says that a typical sport fisherman working the Great Lakes would pay $4.58 for the privilege of catching a single walleye/pike, but would gladly fork over $7.99 to land a trout, or as much as $11.19 for a salmon. Sound fishy? Yet the EPA would rely heavily on these data, and other figures quite similar, to justify its proposed “Phase III” rule to regulate cooling water intake structures at small power plants and other similarly sized facilities, to preserve aquatic and marine life in the nation’s lakes, rivers, streams, bays, and estuaries.
PUHCA Debate - Again
The SEC denies approval of the AEP/CSW merger. What will that mean for industry consolidation?
What's wrong the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA)? The 1935 act clearly did not contemplate a competitive marketplace for electricity. Legislation should be updated to reflect the prevailing energy economic climate.
Upstate Uproar
Retail Choice: New York utilities cry “bait and switch,” but it’s not that simple.
If you take electric service from Orange & Rockland Utilities, the Catskills affiliate of Manhattan’s Con Ed, you can switch to a competitive retail supplier and score a 7 percent discount. But the discount lasts for two months. After that, if you haven’t signed a contract or taken some other action to lock in your discount, your ESCO can boost the commodity rate back to the old level—or even higher.
RTOs: Facts, Not Fiction
The benefits and future challenges of regional transmission organizations.
Ten years after the initial Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that set in motion the establishment of RTOs, it is hard to dispute that the mature organized markets with independent management of the grid have achieved tangible benefits for all customers. It is important to remind ourselves of the accomplishments and challenges ahead.