Commission Watch: Grid Battle Is Joined
FERC's AEP ruling begs the question: Can the feds bypass states that block transmission reform?
FERC's AEP ruling begs the question: Can the feds bypass states that block transmission reform?
Locational pricing makes the network secure, since the utilities and other market participants get 'paid' to monitor the grid.
A successful initiative should reduce state dependence on volatile supplies.
People for January 2004.
The legal battle of the century is ready to begin.
Technology Corridor
Experts say utilities are pushing transmission systems to unsafe limits.
When transmission-line rating assumptions do not match the physical realities of transmission networks, the consequences can be disastrous.
Business & Money
FERC's ruling on cash management programs will introduce new transparency into how utilities manage their cash.
On Oct. 22, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) ruled that FERC-regulated entities must file their cash management agreements with the commission and notify the commission within 45 days after the end of each calendar quarter when their proprietary capital ratio drops below 30 percent, and when it subsequently returns to or exceeds 30 percent.
Commission Watch
ISO New England dares to dream, again.
ISO New England (ISO-NE) wants to become a regional transmission organization (RTO). But just the idea-prior to any official filing at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)-has come under attack. ISO-NE is going to find rough waters ahead, despite a three-year effort aimed at a smooth transition to becoming an RTO. And now with the Oct. 31 filing of the 2,000-plus-page RTO proposal at FERC, the stage is set for these battles to be fought, again.
Benchmarks
Will the changes help or harm generators?
New rules revising the New Source Review (NSR) provision of the Clean Air Act recently were published. The action formalized a process begun several years earlier with the objective of bringing greater clarity to the rule. The new rule is aimed at allowing operators to upgrade equipment at existing power plants without triggering NSR.