Results of the annual survey of energy utility rate proceedings.
(November 15, 2002) With interest rates at record lows, it is not surprising to find downward pressure on allowances for return on equity (ROE) set by state public utility commissions in retail rate cases. (The table presented herein shows the results of our annual survey of authorized rates of return on common equity for state-regulated energy utilities.)
Coal gasification as a transition plan to build lead time to develop sustainable, climate-friendly energy technologies.
Editor's Note Several of the sources for this article and accompanying sidebars are referenced numerous times.
FERC's attempt to standardize markets have some state regulators up in arms.
The fight over standard market design (SMD) looms large as regulators face the coming year. Passions are heightened on the subject-and everyone has an opinion.
In these pages, takes SMD and other questions right to the top policymakers in six states-Alabama, California, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, and Texas-for a snapshot of what the thinking is on hot topics. And of course we included the man of the hour, FERC's chairman Pat Wood.
AEP Spreads the Sunshine
The utility teaches school kids about solar power.
A merican Electric Power (AEP) has launched an innovative program that uses solar power to teach school children about renewable energy while-hopefully-getting them interested in math and science. The "Learning from Light!" program was started in 1999 by AEP, and now boasts membership of its 100th school.
It's a hands-on project for the kids.
Reviewing FERC's omnipotence over markets.
Reviewing FERC's omnipotence over markets: Market players like Calpine say standard market design (SMD) and RTO issues "while laudable and important objectives … will do little to enhance wholesale competition if contract sanctity is not assured."
Will liquefied natural gas catalyze a global natural gas market?
Even as critics still debate whether liquefied natural gas (LNG) can be made economical to compete against regional gas sub-markets, the growth in LNG trade has many convinced that it has the potential to create the basis for a global gas market.
Who should have "green tag" ownership under power purchase agreements, the buyers or the sellers?
A legal controversy is brewing in the electric industry over who should reap the financial benefits of the green characteristics of power plants, under existing power purchase agreements (PPA).
Why a risk-hedging product for small customers isn't the gamble you may think.
Some innovators in the electric industry recently began offering financial hedging products that absorb risk from large customers. Why not offer this kind of protection to customers with small electric loads? Protecting customers from price risk is the essence of flat pricing, and it is where a company can step in and capitalize.
In the rough-and-tumble energy biz, IT departments are paddling hard to stay afloat.
The storm that Enron ignited last fall shows little sign of abating. Information technology (IT) departments at every energy company have had to react to rapidly changing conditions, whether it be shrinking budgets or nervous workforces.