New Positions:

Dynegy Inc. named Holli C. Nichols its senior vice president and corporate controller. Nichols joined Dynegy in 2000 after working for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

Southern Co. Executive Vice President Leonard J. Haynes was installed as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the North American Energy Standards Board, succeeding Bill Boswell.

Amory B. Lovins: It's startling to see in the such nonsense as Andrew Rudin's "Feel-Good Electric Waste" (April 1). He argues that since more efficient use of electricity has merely reduced rather than reversed growth of kilowatt-hour consumption—because the services provided grew even faster—efficient use is bad for the environment and "has not worked." Indeed, it makes us "just waste more electricity, only more efficiently than before."

For Want of a Nail: Emergency Preparedness at Indian Point

The issues facing Entergy's nuclear plant are fixable. Why shut it down?

What happens when law, technology, and politics collide? It's anyone's guess.

PUC could oust PG&E from the project, finding no need for an upgrade.

Nearly a year after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) gave its blessing for upgrading California's notorious "Path 15" transmission bottleneck, an administrative law judge (ALJ) at the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has thrown a monkeywrench into the plan.

An evolving market demands a greater focus on power prices and required return on equity.

Valuation can be difficult even in stable markets, and executives setting their company's strategic course need to understand how the market for power projects is evolving and what may lie ahead.

Microsoft's licensing practices push three utilities to re-evaluate their software needs.

The foundation of the Microsoft monopoly over operating systems and productivity applications may be developing hairline cracks, if the experiences of three utilities are any indicator.

Ironically, Microsoft's overly zealous attempts to sign up customers for a yearly licensing subscription program may have pushed these companies, and others, to look at options like Linux and IBM's Lotus SmartSuite.

 

What are the potential market impacts of LNG importation in the Western United States?

Significant interest in the development of on-shore liquefied natural gas (LNG) import facilities in the Western United States has emerged in the past several years. This interest has been spurred by the dramatic increases forecast for new merchant generation in the Southwest, and particularly California.

An analysis of holding company liability under federal Superfund and parallel state laws.

Environmental cleanup to meet federal and state requirements carries substantial costs that tend to rest disproportionately on public utilities. Looking back at their corporate history, a few utilities have discovered some unique tools to reduce this economic burden.