cost allocation

Good Ratemaking is Hard to Do

Especially in today’s politically charged environment

Trying to use ratemaking to address an increasing number of social issues intensifies the difficulty for regulators to reach a balanced outcome. Net metering stands out as economically inefficient, unfair and a regressive cross-subsidy, essentially an implicit tax on non-solar customers.

Going Against the Flow

Transmission cost allocation when electrons and benefits move in different directions.

You’ve heard the old saw, “Costs are assigned to those who caused them.” But what about damage from Superstorm Sandy? Who “caused” that?

Curing the Death Spiral

Seeking a rate design that recovers costs fairly from customers with rooftop solar.

Load research data shows how utilities can levy a demand charge to recover costs fairly from residential customers with rooftop solar.

Sound and Fury

How NIPSCO feels leaned on.

Northern Indiana Public Service, the MISO member sandwiched between PJM’s Ohio territory and its noncontiguous Chicago outpost, feels particularly aggrieved by the failure of the MISO-PJM Joint Operating Agreement, approved by FERC in 2004, to facilitate cross-border grid projects to relieve constraints along the ragged and interlaced seam that separates the two regions.

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.

Looking Beyond Transmission

FERC Order 1000 and the case for alternative solutions.

How FERC Order 1000 gives short shrift to NTAs (non-transmission alternatives) in regional system planning—while consumers pay the price.

Bridging the Seams

Interregional planning under FERC Order 1000

With no single entity in charge, transmission planning has plagued projects that span multiple regions. A new framework offers a solution.

Killing the Goose

Second thoughts on transmission’s golden egg.

The electric utility industry offers up a wealth of ideas on how the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission might reform its policy, adopted under FERC Order 679 in 2006, of granting financial incentives for investments in transmission line projects that ensure reliability or mitigate line congestion so as to reduce the cost of delivered power. Fortnightly’s Bruce W. Radford reports.

The CAPX2020 Model: Part II

One of the most ambitious transmission projects in America today is CAPX2020. In this second of two exclusive interviews, Fortnightly's Spark talks with Teresa Mogensen, Xcel Energy’s vice president of transmission, about how the investor-owned utility collaborated with public-power utilities to develop a complex set of lines and a solid investment for shareholders.

FORTNIGHTLY  What’s Xcel Energy’s role in the CAPX2020 project, and how does it fit into the company’s overall transmission plan and resource plan?

MOGENSEN CAPX2020 is very important for Xcel and the region.

The CAPX2020 Model - Part I

One of the most ambitious transmission projects in America today is CAPX2020, a series of lines in Minnesota and surrounding states. In this first of two exclusive interviews, Fortnightly's Spark talks with Will Kaul, Great River Energy’s v.p. of transmission, about how the project managed to succeed where others have failed.

Recently electricity started flowing through a new power line between Monticello and St. Cloud, Minn. This 28-mile, 345-kV segment represents a major milestone for one reason: it’s the first wire to go live in the 700-mile CAPX2020 transmission venture.