Off Peak
June 1, 2001
Dear ISO: Why Me?
The city utility in Vernon, California thought it had bought plenty of power, but then got blacked out anyway.
March 19, 2001
Dear Mr. Winter:
News Analysis
1. the incumbent utility companies should not have been promised an opportunity to recover the costs that everybody thought would be stranded by deregulation (he obviously includes himself among the "soreheads" who opposed the idea, insisting that "these behemoths should be treated just like everyone else who made investments that didn't pan out");
News Digest
Electric Executives' Forum
Summer 2001: Are You Ready?
Demand-side programs are all the rage as utilities scramble to find power to serve peak loads.
Be prepared. Power interruptions are not necessarily expected -nevertheless, be prepared-but by God, line up all the weapons you can to prevent blackouts in the first place.
1 See "" by Energy Ventures Analysis Inc. www.evainc.com
2 See "", published in June 2000 by PJM's Market Monitoring Unit, p. 2. In the year 2000, in five NERC power regions, natural gas represented more than 10 percent of total generation: ERCOT 53.3 percent, SPP 28.4 percent, NPCC (NY/NE) 25.6 percent, Florida (FRCC) 23.8 percent and WSCC 21.8 percent. In PJM only 8.7 percent of generation was gas-fired. Source: Form 759 and 900 data as complied by EVA, Inc.
3 , April 24, 2001, p. A-21.
Off Peak
May 15, 2001
Now Do as You're Told
Regulators count on price signals to force consumers to behave.
Boise, Idaho: Tues. Apr. 10, 2001, 8 a.m.
News Analysis
And in Texas, all customer information flows through ERCOT.
Texas thinks it has the right formula for retail choice.
When queried on the wisdom of its restructuring plan relative to California's restructuring woes, Texas likes to point to the new generation capacity coming online, and a supply-demand balance much more favorable than California's.
