storage

Utility Risk Programs: Success or Failure?

State public service commissions are insisting that utilities adopt risk management programs, and are allowing less pass-through for those that don't.

A well-known economist analyzes how well U.S. utilities performed in their risk management programs during 2001/2002.

Moving Gas to Generate Power: An Encore for Hrehor/Sytsma

While responsive to the operational requirements of the particular systems, several new pipeline services enable generators to react more promptly to spiking electric demand.

Putting flesh on the gas-power vision, pipeline efforts to formulate services for generators, and FERC orders governing those efforts now assume a discernible shape. This is a reasonable time to take stock.

Vertical Integration: Necessity or Distraction?

An analysis of the latest wave of unbundling, re-bundling, and convergence plays in the gas-power industries.

In any industry, companies must choose a portfolio of assets and businesses to own along a value chain. In doing so, they make an implicit trade-off between the benefits of focus and vertical integration.

Let's Be Rational About Hydrogen as a Vehicular Fuel

A response to “Forgetting Someone, Mr. Secretary?” Frontlines, Feb 1, 2002.

Mr. Stavros seems to fall into the same trap as so many of the major car manufacturers in assuming the need for a prohibitively costly infrastructure to supply this hydrogen when one already exists that offers by far the cheapest and environmentally vastly superior option—the natural gas transmission and distribution system.

Gas-Power Infrastructure: The Missing Link?

Presenting an option to solving electric transmission congestion.

Fixing electric transmission congestion has been dominating market design policy debates since the beginning of restructuring. Could the gas pipeline infrastructure offer a solution?

Low Voltage

Not everyone in the industry runs at 100 percent capacity.

The credit for the idea of a floating nuke plant does not belong to Russia.

Gas Marketers: Oblivious to All the Fuss

New mega-marketers, niche players emphasize opportunity.

Even when the calendar flipped to 2001 and much of the energy industry was swept into the turmoil surrounding the California electric industry restructuring fiasco, gas marketers continued to thrive in the low-supply, high-demand environment.

Special Report

Industry hopes its centralized assets aren't in the crosshairs.


 

Industry hopes its centralized assets aren't in the crosshairs.

When the topic of U.S. energy security comes up, OPEC typically springs to mind. Sure enough, following the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, politicians and energy executives quickly rallied before the public for less reliance on oil supply from OPEC member nations, and for bolstering domestic energy production.

Perspective

Regulators will have to decide who pays to upgrade the transmission system.


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Regulators will have to decide who pays to upgrade the transmission system.