Technology Corridor
Experts say utilities are pushing transmission systems to unsafe limits.
Experts say utilities are pushing transmission systems to unsafe limits. Does the Aug. 14 blackout support that argument?
AEP
People
People for December 2003.
New opportunities at ScottishPower, Chesapeake Utilities, NRG Energy Inc., and others.
The Regulators Forum - States to Feds: Don't tread on Me
How far do states rights go in transmission planning?
Regulators from five states across the country discuss the fallout from the August blackout, and their battle with the feds over how to tackle the tough issues the states are facing.
Time After Time
Regulators are starting to show signs of strain over the restructuring debate.
Up to now, many in the industry thought everybody but the regulators had tired of the constant back-and-forth over regional market issues such as standard market design. This is not to say that state regulators have been able to find any common resolution.
The Near-Term Fix
How to mitigate transmission risk before the next big blackout.
New legislation and bigger power lines won’t solve the immediate problem for the grid: the threat of failure. Energy providers must begin thinking of reliability in terms of days rather than years, and they must roll out programs and enhance technology now to protect assets, as well as customers.
MISO-PJM Super Region: FERC Makes Companies Pay for RTO Choices
Irregular seams affect ratemaking policies.
In a case that marks the first time FERC eliminated inter-RTO rate pancaking, the commission in late July issued an order terminating regional through-and-out rates (RTORs) charged by two regional transmission owners. The decision removes an estimated $250 million in yearly fees collected by those two entities. But the lost revenue has parties to the proceeding squabbling over many aspects of the case.
AEP's Gutsy Gambit
It would join an RTO but dictate the terms — a dangerous game that has the industry talking.
When I talked a few months ago with AEP President and CEO Linn Draper Jr., he discussed how his company would have joined the PJM RTO in March were it not for the backlash he was getting from certain state regulators.
Corporate Governance: Embracing Sarbanes-Oxley
By approaching Sarbanes-Oxley compliance as an opportunity rather than a burden, companies can reap strategic rewards and become stronger.
The stakes have risen in the compliance game. A series of incendiary scandals-followed by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and its implementing regulations-have focused the scorching light of public scrutiny onto public companies in all industries, and the heat is particularly intense for investor-owned utilities.
What Does Shakespeare Know About Utility Leadership?
New realities demand new direction from utilities.
To paraphrase Shakespeare, "The true soul of joy is in the process." For the utility industry, nothing could be further from the truth. The deregulatory "process" has not been joyful. It has been painful and costly.
People
New Positions:
People
New Positions:
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) appointed Thomas A. Leach to a two-year term on its Consumers Advisory Council. Leach is the business manager and financial secretary of Local Union 126, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.