Citi

Business & Money

Experts debate whether KKR's leveraged buyout of UniSource Energy is right for the industry.

Business & Money

Experts debate whether KKR's leveraged buyout of UniSource Energy is right for the industry.

"From a public policy standpoint, should a utility that provides a vital public good be owned by a private group that gains ownership by taking on a high degree of debt (risk)?"

Perspective

Two Cato analysts suggest a return to the past-vertical integration, but now with no state regulators.

Perspective

Two Cato analysts suggest a return to the past-vertical integration, but now with no state regulators.

The defeat of the energy bill in the Senate last year has thrown electricity restructuring back on its heels. There clearly is no consensus among politicians or academics regarding how this industry ought to be organized or how it might best be regulated. Finding our way out of this morass requires a reconsideration of how we got to this dismal point in our regulatory journey.

The Utility Sector: A Wall Street Takeover?

Financial players bring credit depth to energy markets, but will they play by the rules?

Financial players bring credit depth to energy markets, but will they play by the rules?

The center of gravity for energy marketing and trading activity is moving from Houston to Wall Street. Some major financial institutions already have plunged into the market, while others are testing the waters, gearing up to participate in a bigger way. Already their impact is being felt, and it is most definitely welcome.

Generation Roundtable: Power Flux

Generators struggle to plan for the future as they cope with an unstable present.

Generators struggle to plan for the future as they cope with an unstable present.

When the acting administrator at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Marianne Horinko, signed the EPA's "routine replacement" rule on Aug. 27, 2003, she proclaimed that the new approach to Clean Air Act regulation would "provide … power plants with the regulatory certainty they need."

Return on Equity: A Survey of recent PUC Rulings

A Survey of Recent PUC Rulings

(November 15, 2003) With most restructuring efforts at a standstill in the energy industry, state public utility commissions (PUCs) have tended to shift their attention back to the art and science of ratemaking. For electric and gas utilities, that has meant a renewed emphasis on the mechanics of setting a maximum allowed rate of return on common equity (ROE).

What Do You Mean by Green?

Seemingly eco-friendly definitions can prevent adoption of renewable portfolio standards.

Seemingly eco-friendly definitions can prevent adoption of renewable portfolio standards.

Off Peak

Surfside reading for the energy workaholic.

Surfside reading for the energy workaholic.

The Last Energy War: The Battle Over Utility Deregulation

Utility deregulation is the biggest consumer rip-off since the S&L debacle, activist Harvey Wasserman argues. He says electric competition has wider and more deadly implications: costs running to trillions of dollars, environmental threats, and the further delay of renewables like wind and solar energy.

Reinventing Electric Utilities: Competition, Citizen Action, and Clean Power

Off Peak

Surfside reading for the energy workaholic.

Surfside reading for the energy workaholic.

The Last Energy War: The Battle Over Utility Deregulation

Utility deregulation is the biggest consumer rip-off since the S&L debacle, activist Harvey Wasserman argues. He says electric competition has wider and more deadly implications: costs running to trillions of dollars, environmental threats, and the further delay of renewables like wind and solar energy.

Reinventing Electric Utilities: Competition, Citizen Action, and Clean Power

Size Matters: Consider teh Alternatives

For small to midsize utilities, the costs and burdens of being a stand-alone investor-owned utility merit considering the alternatives.


For small to midsize utilities, the costs and burdens of being a stand-alone investor-owned utility merit considering the alternatives.

A pressing question for many utilities-particularly small to midsize utilities-is whether to remain a standalone publicly owned company at their current form and size. Do the benefits outweigh the costs?