Flexibility is key as FERC moves toward a final rule.
Since the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) released its vision last July to standardize the rules governing U.S. bulk power markets, the nation's reaction to this standard market design (SMD) could safely be called swift and fervent.
Three keys to heighten customer interest.
A recently completed analysis of innovative ratemaking in the electric utility industry by Platts Re-search & Consulting found a handful of customer-centric utilities expermenting with novel innovations in ratemaking, although most continue to miss the boat on this form of product differentiation.
FERC faces a growing chorus of rebellion on earnings incentives.
"If I may say, today, we the states are the chosen ones." That was Virginia utility commissioner Hullihen ("Hulli") W. Moore, speaking on the phone in January with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Pat Wood and other federal and state regulators, trying to untangle the business of transmission reform.
In a "like kind exchange" transaction, the IRS permits a seller to defer taxes on its inherent gain on assets being sold.
The utility community is starting to experiment with a "like kind exchange" (LKE)-a type of tax-advantaged asset acquisition and disposition transaction used extensively in connection with commercial real estate and various types of personal property, but which heretofore has not achieved widespread acceptance in the utility industry.
The instant messaging wildfire spreads to the utilities industry.
Utilities are starting to take a good, hard look at incorporating instant messaging (IM) into their business. (Never heard of IM? Check out our primer in the sidebar.)
Spotlight Shines Again on 'Cool Losers'
Noting that "American Idol" may have "met its match," the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) recently revealed the winner of its "Coolest Loser" contest. The award is given to the most energy-inefficient refrigerator, based on appearance and condition.
Rising gas prices spark a rush to wind farms, straining grid capacity and raising larger issues about market design.
When the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) was drafting rules to encourage the use of renewable energy, it took pains to guard against the chance that power producers would fail to reach the state's target of 400 megawatts (MW) in installed new renewable generation capacity by Jan. 1, 2002. The commission needn't have worried.
Beware of a national energy crisis that eclipses California's.
It seems rather elementary in an economic downturn to say that generating capacity will easily match demand over the next few years, especially with all the new plants that have been built lately. But what happens to the supply picture when you factor in a possible economic upswing, with continued high natural gas prices, an illiquid wholesale market, and an aging transmission infrastructure?