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Giving Credit Where It’s Due

Utilities will gain from new regs for research tax credits.

The 1990s ushered in the era of deregulation, bringing a reluctance of state commissions to approve large capital expenditures for transmission and distribution (T&D). To make up for this, capital spending has increased dramatically in the last few years. Now the federal government is stepping in to help utilities prime the pump. The final regulations, issued in early 2004 by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, should make it a little easier for utilities, as well as other taxpayers, to use research and development (R&D) expenditures to help lower their effective tax rates.
Byline: 

Craig King, Jeff Jones, and Kurt Mars

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The Widening Technological Divide

Increased business and regulatory challenges have utilities lagging in investments to meet energy demand a decade from now.

The electricity enterprise has tended through restructuring to become a victim of its historic success in maintaining universal service reliability at ever-lower cost. The essential foundation for restoring enterprise vitality in the coming decade is rebuilding this fundamental public/private partnership, based on technology innovations that can increase the value of electricity service, including providing higher levels of reliability and security.
Byline: 

Kurt E. Yeager

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The Global LNG Gamble

The Geopolitical Risks of LNG

The Geopolitical Risks of LNG

To many energy-industry analysts, 2005 is a make-or-break year for the U.S. gas market. If we don't have at least several liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in construction by the end of the year, the country arguably will face serious gas-supply shortages and price spikes beginning in about 2008.1

Byline: 
Michael T. Burr
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Distributed Generation: Who Benefits?

<font color="red">Distributed Generation</font>

Distributed Generation

In the first of three articles, experts at Oak Ridge National Laboratory examine the technical obstacles, deployment, and economic issues surrounding distributed generation.

The existing electric power delivery system is a critical part of this country's economic and societal infrastructure, and proposals to increase the role of distributed energy resources (DER) within this system are welcomed by few in the utility industry.

Byline: 
T.K. Stovall, S.W. Hadley, and D.T. Rizy
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Special Metering Supplement

Metering Supplement

Metering Supplement

presents a special series of articles that clarifies misconceptions and reviews the progress and pitfalls regarding automated metering technology.

Time and time again, the advancement of new technologies has been misunderstood.

Byline: 
March 2005
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The Oracle of AMR: Interview With Howard Scott

The Oracle of AMR

The Oracle of AMR

In search of the top trends in utility automation.

Howard A. Scott, Ph.D., specializes in utility operations technology for Cognyst Consulting. His technical and business experiences include automatic meter reading, telecommunications, project and business management, market research, and software development. He has published numerous articles including an extensive market study of the automatic meter reading industry titled .

Byline: 
Richard Stavros
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Automatic Meter Reading: Debunking the Myths

Advanced Meter Reading

Advanced Meter Reading

An executive speaks out.

I think, frankly, that it's those marketing folks who conjure up all the myths about advanced meter reading. Rather than sheepishly admitting that their product is deficient in multiple areas, corporate spinmeisters spin webs of words and images into difficult-to-understand concepts, hoping upon hope they can fool us. They bank on the old adage: tell a lie enough and soon people will begin to believe it.

Byline: 

Mark Leach

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Frontlines

Can utility executives find happiness in back-to-basics?

Frontlines

Can utility executives find happiness in back-to-basics?

We've read the pitch a number of times in these very pages. Top investment bankers have told us that a "back-to-basics" strategy will never produce a high-enough return to please electric utility stockholders; that the only solution to bridge this "earnings gap" would involve a rash of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) between utilities.

Byline: 
Richard Stavros, Executive Editor
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