The last 30 years in America have seen great improvements in the energy efficiency of electric motors, appliances, and other end-use equipment. Think of compact fluorescents, ground-source heat pumps, and thermal window glazing. Add variable speed drives, chilled water AC, and high-pressure sodium street lighting. You name it, we've got it.

PJM ITC Tariff Splits With Midwest

It's not just for enviros any more.

Green building. It's a trend that means newly constructed buildings consume 10 to 50 percent less energy than traditionally constructed buildings, yet cost only a small percentage more than standard construction. And it's a trend that is rapidly gaining a foothold with large residential and commercial builders. No wonder utilities of all sizes across the country are paying attention.

Teen's life saved by utility line. Can industry say the same?

We can only hope it's a metaphor for the electricity industry.

In January, Joe Thompson III, 18, of Blue Springs, Kansas, was cruising along in his Jeep Wrangler sans seatbelt.

Suddenly, a car turned in front of Thompson. His Jeep clipped the other car and rolled, ultimately throwing him 25 feet or so in the air.

Companies that were on a buying spree before 2001 are putting assets worth billions n the block

A casual observer might expect that the industry's economic condition would produce a cornucopia of cheap assets for acquisitive companies . Eventually it might, but so far, it generally has not.

The pros and cons of waiting for the seller to declare bankruptcy.

Sometimes a great opportunity is just too good to be true. Consider, for example, a purchase of distressed assets from one of the many energy companies now mired in well-publicized financial difficulties.

It's a law that only a mother could love.

It's tough to write another word about repealing the Public Utility Holding Company Act (PUHCA), or the "35 Act," as it is also known, referring to its Depression-era origins. But like the Energizer bunny, this debate keeps on going and going.

It's almost 70 years later, and the issue has outlived several generations of utility executives, regulators, lawyers, bankers, academics, and a few magazine editors. Heck, it may outlive us all.