The Generation Glut: When Will It End?
An analysis of the timing, location, and mix of new capacity additions that may be needed in the future.
An analysis of the timing, location, and mix of new capacity additions that may be needed in the future.
The Case Against Gas Dependence
Greater reliance on gas-fired power implies serious economic, technological, and national security risks.
Over the past two decades, the United States has, by default, come to rely on an "In Gas We Trust" energy policy. Is such a dramatic increase in the use of natural gas to generate electricity feasible without straining gas supply and infrastructure?
LNG Rising
Despite development challenges, LNG capacity is destined to play a bigger role in the U.S. energy mix.
Liquefied natural gas tankers and terminals are being developed and built at a dizzying pace to head off natural gas shortages in the U.S. market. How big a role will it play in years to come?
Merchant Costs: Reckless Abandonment?
Some independent power producers failed to contain capital and O&M costs, adding to financial pressures.
By following some basic principles, electricity generators can conserve cash, manage risk, and thereby increase value.
T&O Rates: Premature End to A Good Thing?
Solving the dilemma.
FERC wants to eliminate direct T&O charges while at the same time compensating exporting transmissions systems through inefficient uplift charges.
In His Own Words
A face-to-face interview with FERC Chairman Pat Wood III.
In an exclusive interview, Executive Editor Richard Stavros, talks to FERC Chairman Pat Wood III about what the commission has in store for the electric utilities industry in 2004 and beyond.
Benchmarks: Are Electricity Capacity Margins Really Growing?
New England's experience may redefine the term.
The U.S. capacity margin growth of 2002 should have eased upward pressures on electricity prices. However, electricity prices surged in many areas, such as New England, where surplus electricity capacity has developed. This suggests that the standard definition of capacity margin may not be appropriate in the context of current market realities.
Letter to the Editor
Letters for April 2004.
Cato's Peter Van Doren and Jerry Taylor analyzed the electricity crisis in "Rethinking Restructuring" (February 2004) and concluded that the solution to a bad situation is vertical integration and mandatory real-time pricing. In my opinion they have got it half right.
People
People for April 2004.
Positions filled at the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Duke Energy, Entergy, and others.
Frontlines: Sticker Shock
Electricity rates may be heading skyward sooner than we think.
Even in regulated states, balancing shareholder interest against ratepayer interest is still more art than science. A fact that utilities will always dread, as long as there are rate cases.