Absolute Power
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."
The Future Role of LNG
Will liquefied natural gas catalyze a global natural gas market?
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.
The Green Controversy
Who should have "green tag" ownership under power purchase agreements, the buyers or the sellers?
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).
Betting on Retail Risk Management: Flat Prices for Peak Hedging
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.
The CIO Forum: IT Weathers the Storm
In the rough-and-tumble energy biz, IT departments are paddling hard to stay afloat.
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.
Benchmarks
Small businesses give IOUs low marks on customer satisfaction.
Underwhelmed by the Utilities That Serve Them?
People
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Judy Pensabene has joined the Republican staff of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee as deputy chief counsel. She is returning to the committee, where she worked from 1990 to 1995, after serving as vice president of federal affairs at Constellation Energy Group.
Entergy announced that Peter P. Schneider has been hired as vice president of Nuclear Human Resources, a new position within the company. Schneider's prior experience includes stints at Human Resources Strategies and Solutions, Inc., Exelon, and PECO Energy.
Perspective
ITP vs. LSE, subsidies, cost recovery, regional coordination-all must be addressed to achieve FERC's goals.
Demand Response: Keep It Market- Based
Flashpoint Congress
This year, or next, legislators will close in on a national energy bill.
This year, or next, legislators will close in on a national energy bill. Some agreement already looks promising for several industry flashpoints.