Calendar of Events

DNV KEMA's 6th Annual Utility of the Future Leadership Forum
Jun 17, 2013 to Jun 19, 2013 | Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland
Intersolar Europe
Jun 19, 2013 to Jun 21, 2013 | Munich, Germany
Energy Management Congress West
Jun 19, 2013 to Jun 20, 2013 | Las Vegas, Nevada
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Public Utilities Reports

PUR Guide 2012 Fully Updated Version

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PUR Guide

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Demand response

Set and Forget

The underlying premise of demand response hasn’t changed in 30 years, but the technologies and approaches to executing DR programs today are worlds away from the basic, one-way load control programs of yesteryear. Engagement and automation are changing everything.

The underlying premise of demand response hasn’t changed in 30 years, but the technologies and approaches to executing DR programs today are worlds away from the basic, one-way load control programs of yesteryear. Engagement and automation are changing everything.

DSM in the Rate Case

A regulatory model for resource parity between supply and demand.

Brian Hedman and Jill Steiner

Integrated resource planning must level the field for both supply- and demand-side resources. Commissions in several states are showing the way.

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Federal Feud

The jurisdictional battle rages on, with FERC and EPA squaring off against the states.

Bruce W. Radford and Michael T. Burr

When Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays led an attack on the federal Springfield Armory in January 1787—the spark that ignited the federalist movement—he scarcely could’ve guessed that now, 225 years later, his spiritual descendants would still be fighting that very same battle.

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Efficiency Beyond the Low Fruit

Continuous improvement requires changing practices and cultural norms.

Hossein Haeri, Heidi Ochsner and Jim Stewart

As efficiency programs mature, utilities and regulators will be challenged to keep producing demand-side resources. A systems-oriented approach can yield cost-effective results.

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CEO Forum: Facing the Future

Three CEOs, three business models, one shared outlook.

Michael T. Burr

Cheap gas, regulatory uncertainties, and a technology revolution are re-making the U.S. utility industry. Top executives at three very different companies—CMS, NRG, and the Midwest ISO—share their outlook on the industry’s transformative changes.

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Maximizing Customer Benefits

Performance measurement and action steps for smart grid investments.

Paul Alvarez

Regulators and customers are holding utilities’ feet to the fire, when it comes to investing in advanced metering and smart grid systems—and rightly so. Making the most of investments requires a systematic approach to establishing standards and monitoring performance. But it also requires policy frameworks and cost recovery regimes that provide the right incentives.

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Bench Report: Top Ten Legal Decisions of 2011

Bruce W. Radford 

1. ‘Policy’ Guides the Grid; 2. Carbon Not a Nuisance (Yet); 3. Gigabucks for Negawatts; 4. A MOPR, Not a NOPR; 5. Ramp Up the Frequency; 6. Cap-and-Trade Still Lives; 7. Cyber Insecurity; 8. Korridor Killer; 9. The Burden Not Shared; 10. Ozone Can Wait.

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Energy Efficiency: 15 percent by 2020?

A new survey of energy industry experts reveals a surprising consensus on the size of the energy efficiency resource. Overall, energy efficiency is expected to lower electricity consumption by 5 to 15 percent, and natural gas consumption by 5 to 10 percent. These results debunk the notion that conservation is a fad. On the contrary, they herald a new beginning for energy efficiency.

Efficiency pessimists contend that energy efficiency (inclusive of demand response) is unlikely to make much of a dent on energy consumption and peak demand in the year 2020 since all the low-hanging fruit has been harvested. Ergo, the solution to meeting the nation’s future energy needs in a carbon-constrained future is to build more power plants (preferably those that don’t burn coal), transmission lines and distribution systems.

Up in Smoke

Demand-side resources claim a growing share of the market, bringing lower costs and environmental benefits.

In May, PJM Interconnection conducted its annual auctions to secure electric capacity three years from now. As expected by most analysts, the base residual auction (BRA) for delivery year 2014/15 electric capacity cleared with lower volumes versus the prior year, due to lower demand. Prices were lower in the typically constrained eastern Mid Atlantic Area Council (MAAC) region, and higher in the rest of the regional transmission organization (RTO).

Low-Income Reality Check

Evaluating the impact of dynamic pricing.

Trevor R. Roycroft

Are residential time-of-use prices only effective for middle class households, or do low-income customers benefit too—as authors Lisa Wood and Ahmad Faruqui asserted in their October 2010 article? Data from pilot programs show that low-income customers exhibit a reduced ability to benefit from dynamic pricing. Demand response programs should accommodate the realities of low-income customers’ consumption patterns.

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