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RTOs: The Creditworthiness Conundrum

IOUs, RTOs duke it out over standardization.

Have regional transmission operators (RTOs) and independent system operators (ISOs) asked for excessive levels of credit from customers? The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) must face that difficult question as it investigates whether to institute a rulemaking on credit-related issues for service provided by ISOs, RTOs, and transmission providers.
Byline: 

Lori A. Burkhart

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A Year After the Blackout: On a Collision Course With History?

Grid reliability is still at risk unless the industry quickly takes action.

The blackout highlighted the growing threat of dynamic voltage problems. Technical solutions to this problem are readily available, but creative regulatory approaches are needed. Here is a case where the timeworn precept, “follow the money,” offers a winning solution for the entire array of power system stakeholders.
Byline: 

John B. Howe

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Coal: Paying a King's Ransom

What's causing price volatility, and will it last?

The long period of sub-full-cost pricing in the 1990s caused great rationalization in the coal industry, leaving a much healthier and sensible market. One consequence of this is that the floor price for coal in most regions has risen about 25 percent in the last few years. With natural gas prices expected to remain high for some time, those coal markets where ready capacity is at current demand levels will see steadily high prices.
Byline: 

Andy Roberts and Gary L. Hunt

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Letters to the Editor

Regarding “Consolidating Co-ops,” June 2004

“Co-ops are beginning to look like ripe fruit” for IOU acquisition, Michael T. Burr wrote in “Consolidating Co-ops” in the June 2004 issue of Public Utilities Fortnightly. In many cases, just the opposite is true, writes one contributor.
Byline: 

Bill Conway, Matt Berry

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People

People for September 2004

Filled positions at the California PUC, PG&E Corp., FERC, and others.
Byline: 

PUf

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Irreconcilable Differences?

Imported natural gas contains more Btus and fewer impurities than the domestic variety, raising questions for LNG development.

While the gas industry is not yet ready to admit it, there may be a high price to pay to deal with the differences that come from an increase in imports of natural gas from overseas. But the alternative of not paying to avert a natural gas crisis would be irreconcilable.
Byline: 

Richard Stavros

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Building a Digital Utility: A Question of Survival

EPRI challenges the industry to modernize the grid.

Modernization of the U.S. power system is one of the most important policy steps that this nation can, and must, take. It may not be the most dramatic step, but it is the most important step toward ensuring the future welfare and livelihood of this nation.
Byline: 

Kurt Yeager

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Solving The Crisis In Unscheduled Power

While NAESB and NERC struggle over the issue, North America steadily drifts toward unreliability.

How should power flowing between NERC-certified balancing authorities be priced? The author proposes a formula.
Byline: 

Robert Blohm

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Long-Term Power Contracts: The Art Of The Deal

Long-Term Cooperative Supplier Relationships

The authors examine a “laddered” approach to pricing, whereby a wholesale supplier, instead of locking in to a long-term contract for 100 percent of current load, would be more secure financially with only one or a few staggered, partial commitments over time.
Byline: 

Amy Roschelle, William Steinhurst, Paul Peterson, and Bruce Biewald

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Global Warming: The Gathering Storm

Russia resurrects the Kyoto Protocol and the prospect of either mandatory CO2 emissions cuts for U.S. utilities, or the start of a global trade war.

Once an opponent of the Kyoto Protocol, Russia is set to ratify it later this year. Will the growing alliance between Russia and the EU force the United States to satisfy the terms of Kyoto?
Byline: 

Peter J. Fontaine, Esquire

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