Indecent Disclosure?

Most pan FERC NOPR, but gas association eyes FERC role.

Citing overlap with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the power industry has largely panned FERC’s proposals to require greater disclosure on financial instruments and derivatives.

20/20 Hindsight: The Gas Forecasting Dilemma

The recent experience of MichCon illustrates what happens when forecasters at gas distribution companies guess wrong.

The Michigan Consolidated Gas Company’s (MichCon) bad experience with gas forecasting illustrates an important public policy question: What is the optimal supply acquisition strategy for a regulated gas utility?

Utility Risk Programs: Success or Failure?

State public service commissions are insisting that utilities adopt risk management programs, and are allowing less pass-through for those that don't.

A well-known economist analyzes how well U.S. utilities performed in their risk management programs during 2001/2002.

The Great Canadian Gas Race

Northern gas rush proves timely for power generators.

America’s insatiable demand for clean burning power generated in newly minted natural gas-fired power plants has caused a massive Canada-wide hunt for new gas resources, and a search for how to get it across the border.

Catch A Wave!

The solution to California's crisis may have been lapping at the beach.

The California Energy Commission recently awarded a $120,000 grant to study the feasibility of using ocean swells as a potential source of renewable energy.

Moving Gas to Generate Power: An Encore for Hrehor/Sytsma

While responsive to the operational requirements of the particular systems, several new pipeline services enable generators to react more promptly to spiking electric demand.

Putting flesh on the gas-power vision, pipeline efforts to formulate services for generators, and FERC orders governing those efforts now assume a discernible shape. This is a reasonable time to take stock.

A Winning Proposition?

A response to Bruce Radford’s “100-to-1 Odds, Why merchant transmission still looks iffy,” in the March 1, 2002 issue.

Competitive transmission is already a proven and sound business model. With the right regulatory rules, competitive transmission can make major efficiency improvements to the existing transmission system.

People (April 15, 2002)

Stephen P. Reynolds succeeds William S. Weaver as president and CEO for Puget Energy. NERC elected Bruce A. Scherr to its independent board of trustees. Jim Wise, chairman and CEO of Neostar Group Inc., has joined the volunteer leadership team of the Resource Alliance Group of Houston. And others ...

Three-Legged Stool

The smart money now treats transmission as a player. Just like generation. Just like load.

Over at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, new chairman Pat Wood has let it be known if he had been in charge, he would have postponed Order 2000.