Modeling Storm Outages
New tools for enhancing utility preparedness and response.
Sandy and other major storms have raised the bar for outage management. New modeling systems help utilities predict effects and plan their response.
Transmission
Cross-Border Bargaining
Interregional grid planning under FERC Order 1000.
Territorial fights emerge in the interregional transmission plans proposed for compliance with FERC Order 1000.
Walking the Ports and Services Gauntlet
An approach to complying with NERC’s new cybersecurity standard, CIP-007 (R2).
NERC’s new standards require utilities to lock down network ports and services. Compliance calls for a systematic approach to cataloging and tracking.
Bargain or Bonanza
Is discounted cash flow (DCF) still a reliable tool for determining equity cost?
The time-honored discounted cash flow method for determining appropriate utility returns falls short when interest rates are low. Inadequate ROEs ultimately increase cost of capital and wipe away any temporary savings.
Improving Capacity Markets
FERC decision on PJM mitigation is a model for other ISOs and RTOs.
Capacity markets have been a significant source of controversy since the inception of competitive wholesale markets. While there are many regulatory questions to be answered in constructing capacity markets, the primary goal of such markets should be to attract capacity that is competitively priced.
Transmission Policy in Flux
More planning, fewer incentives, and a black swan on the horizon.
The transmission superhighway still needs major investments. Rate incentives were working -- until FERC started backing away from them. FERC should assert its authority more aggressively to promote the vision of a robust interstate grid.
Rethinking Capacity Markets
A pragmatic new approach to assuring reliability.
The latest dispute over PJM’s bidding rules has raised the level of uncertainty in organized electricity markets. Efforts at reform have created a market structure so jumbled that it can’t produce just and reasonable rates -- or assure adequate supply resources. It’s time for FERC to consider alternative approaches to market design.
Economy of Small
How DG and microgrids change the game for utilities.
Energy microgrids have emerged as more than just a curiosity. The technology is improving, costs are falling, and developers are lining up to build projects. How will microgrids overcome the substantial challenges that stand in their way?
Old School Microgrid
Resilience depends more on determination than technology.
A brutal storm ripped through southwestern Minnesota in April and snapped 2,000 power poles. Worthington Public Utilities kept the lights on with a seat-of-the-pants microgrid.
Smaller, Cheaper, and More Resilient
The rationale for microgrids.
Despite an array of challenges, microgrids are becoming a force in the market. Innovative projects bring greater efficiency and resilience.