PPL Corporation and Riverstone Holdings LLC announced a definitive agreement to combine their merchant power generation businesses into a new stand-alone, publicly traded independent power producer. The new company, which will own and operate 15,320 MW of generating capacity, will be called Talen Energy Corporation.
Electric executives open up on what they’re planning next.
Free markets are not a fad.
Regulators today must define earnings for energy retailers virtually bereft of fixed assets.
Applying the traditional rate-base concept to the new hybrid companies is where the gap between the old and the new regulatory paradigms resembles a deep schism. The current shifts in regulation should cause regulators to revisit and reconsider concepts that once reigned supreme in ratemaking.
State regulators grapple with investments, supply planning, and structural issues.
The opposing challenges of higher gas prices and rising environmental concerns have put utility regulators in a difficult position: How can they bring rate stability while minimizing environmental impacts? At the same time, they are grappling with trends in consolidation, competition, transmission planning, and distribution service quality. Each state brings a different view of the changing utility landscape. For insight, Fortnightly brought together regulators from several states to discuss their plans and priorities for today and the future.
Prospects look good for cheaper, independent electrical power in Ontario. The market is forcing an end to the current impasse on energy policy. Reforms are apt to include "wholesale access," which should arrive in the province before the year is out. Otherwise, Ontario may lose jobs to neighboring provinces and states.