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.
Technology Corridor: Bridging the Transmission Gap
A digital grid to the home, secured via a local fiber-optic network, could position utilities to fix power and telecom together.
Before billions are spent building new transmission lines to ensure reliable electric service, North American electric utilities should evaluate whether the alternatives — controlling demand and fostering distributed generation — might be more cost-effective and broadly beneficial.
NERC's Cloudy Crystal Ball
How much confidence do NERC demand forecasts warrant?
NERC’s forecasts for peak demand growth have consistently underestimated actual levels of growth. How does that affect projections for new construction?
The Reliability Spending Conundrum
What is the right and prudent level of spending on service?
Utilities and regulators who want to determine the right level of spending on service quality should employ three tests: trending, benchmarking, and modeling.
The Road Not Taken
Revisiting performance-based rates with endogenous market designs.
Have regulators selected the wrong market design in their restructurings during the past two decades?