DC

Should an LDC procure electricity hedge products by using an Internet-based auction?

We propose that local distribution companies (LDCs) should use an Internet-based auction to procure inactively traded products, because the auction is a superior alternative to common procurement methods, such as bilateral negotiation and request for offers (RFO). Supporting our proposal is the empirical evidence from two auctions recently held by a municipal utility in Florida.

Investigating where environmental efficiency and good public policy intersect.

More than a decade after adopting the first national cap-and-trade approach to regulating pollution from electricity generators, Congress is considering another round of cap-and-trade regulations on a number of gases emitted by electricity generators.

Coal gasification as a transition plan to build lead time to develop sustainable, climate-friendly energy technologies.

Editor's Note

Several of the sources for this article and accompanying sidebars are referenced numerous times.

Why hedging can make sense, even for companies covered by weather-normalized rates.

Weather risk management is growing, but utilities may be losing out.

A recent survey suggests that the number of transactions involving financial derivatives to hedge weather-related risks grew by 43 percent against the prior year for the twelve months ended March 31.¹ Yet regulated utilities continue to show reluctance to embrace weather derivatives.

 

Some thoughts on who should take the lead and how to set up financial incentives.

One of the most interesting questions that arises from federal restructuring of the electric grid, with regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and a standard market design (SMD), concerns the risk of building transmission in an RTO environment.