From ISO to DSO
Imagining a new construct – an independent system operator for the distribution network.
A new utility industry construct – the Distribution System Operator (DSO) – could help maximize the benefits of distributed energy resources.
rooftop
Taking Digital to Scale
Eight key ‘plays’ to alter how work is managed and performed.
Adopting digital capabilities to transform operations and processes holds immense promise for utilities. Indeed, it’s the best path to growth.
Making Peace With Solar
Electric executives open up on what they’re planning next.
Electric power executives open up about their solar investments. What motivates them? What are they planning next?
Unwinding the Death Spiral
Rooftop solar, net metering, and the perils of utilityspeak.
The Sierra Club accuses utilities of trying to snuff out rooftop solar. Attorney Donald Sipe recommends RTO/ISO markets for natural gas.
Embracing Disruption
Developing a leadership role for utilities in alternative technologies.
Faced with aging assets, rising operating costs, growing regulatory risks, and flat demand growth, utilities are challenged to remain competitive in an evolving energy market. The answer might be for utilities to establish a leadership position and pursue a more flexible mission.
Beyond the Meter
Protecting your base – while keeping options open.
The coming years will bring policy wrangling over distributed resources – what’s economic and what’s not.
What Solar Success Looks Like
Managing the transition to a solar-powered future.
Solar energy has a bright future as part of America’s electric power industry. An orderly and beneficial transition will depend on strategic action.
Productivity Plateau
A mature industry faces a worrying round of hype.
Are we languishing, or working off a 20th-century legacy? Gartner’s hype cycle suggests the latter, as new technologies start producing value.
The Fortnightly 40 Best Energy Companies
The dash to gas brings volatility in shareholder performance.
Fortnightly’s 2013 ranking of shareholder value performance shows substantial changes, with gas prices weighing on some utilities and elevating others.
Rise of the Machines
Who’s afraid of the transactive grid?
Smart grids and nodal markets spark the emergence of a transactional grid. In fact it’s already happened, and we’re just becoming aware.