The Business Case for Co-Op Acquisitions
IOUs considering co-op acquisitions are finding fertile territory for growth.
When do the pros of a co-op acquisition outweigh the cons? One feasibility analysis shows some surprising results.
IOUs
IT Roundtable: The Digitized Grid
Data gathering and controllability offer the quickest path to reliability.
Technology leaders at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the Electric Power Research Institute, and the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative present their visions of energy IT in the 21st century.
Roundtable: The Future Of Generation
Meeting tomorrow’s power needs will pose tough choices.
A group of executives and analysts tell Fortnightly that the outlook for generation is positive, because it has to be. But making generation work well—affordably, cleanly, and reliably—won’t be easy.
Power Measurements
Failing the Market-Power Test:
Power Measurement
Failing the Market-Power Test:
How FERC's ruling could affect wholesale power markets.
Utility M&A: Buying Time
Buying Time
Buying Time
Slowly and cautiously, utilities are moving back into growth mode.
The air is buzzing with talk of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). It can be heard in the boardroom and on the trading floor. Bankers hear it, and they see their deal backlog beginning to grow. Fund managers hear it, as they hunt for the best buys in the market before strategic investors snatch them up. Financial advisers and lawyers hear it, too; their phones are ringing more than they have in years.
After FERC’s Market Power Ruling: New Money Into Gen Sector
Will financiers dominate the market?
The recent approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) of its "interim" market power screen and policies on investor-owned utilities (IOU) affiliate transactions is changing the market dynamics for buying and selling generation assets. Yet, while the market test has drawn plenty of comments and complaints, the long-term effects are still uncertain.
RTOs: The Creditworthiness Conundrum
IOUs, RTOs duke it out over standardization.
Have regional transmission operators (RTOs) and independent system operators (ISOs) asked for excessive levels of credit from customers? The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) must face that difficult question as it investigates whether to institute a rulemaking on credit-related issues for service provided by ISOs, RTOs, and transmission providers.
Northwest Passage: BPA's Changing Role
The treacherous journey toward a more efficient and transparent Northwest power market may be nearing its conclusion.
The treacherous journey toward a more efficient and transparent Northwest power market may be nearing its conclusion, as increased funding, more generating capacity, and a burgeoning RTO paint a brighter picture for Bonneville Power Administration.
Western Power Markets: Ready for A Wild Ride
IOUs take action, but other overriding forces will affect prices in the near term.
The new capacity brought on line in 2003 and 2004 likely will not drive down market prices but may well provide a measure of reliability to the market, possibly counteracting some of the usual price volatility seen in low hydro years. This is good news for the wholesale power business, and it signals that the industry is beginning to claw its way back from the near-death experience of the past few years.
Consolidating Co-ops
Like it or not, changes are coming for electric cooperatives. Fewer and bigger might be the inevitable result.
Like it or not, changes are coming for electric cooperatives. Fewer and bigger might be the inevitable result.
When power planners at Basin Electric Power Cooperative began trying to decide how and where the company's next big power plant would be built, they did what a co-op does best -they reached out and formed a coalition.