Federal Regulatory Commission

FERC Issues Pilot License For Tidal Project in Puget Sound

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a 10-year pilot license to Public Utility District No. 1 Snohomish County for the proposed Admiralty Inlet Pilot Tidal Project to be located in the Puget Sound. The 600-kW Admiralty Inlet Project is an experimental project designed to determine whether commercial development of the tidal energy resources of Puget Sound is commercially viable. The license authorizes Public Utility District No. 1 to study, monitor, and evaluate the environmental, economic, and cultural effects of hydrokinetic energy.

Regional Power Markets: Roadblock to Choice?

Competition abounds at wholesale, but retail is another story.

Will geography, politics and regional economics stand in the way of real choice for electric consumers at the retail level? Consider this tale of two power players.

One competitor, the Indiana Municipal Power Agency, is proud of itself. In its annual report, IMPA says that open access and competition in the wholesale market allowed it to trim wholesale rates for power it delivered to member distribution companies in 1996. "The results were remarkable," the report reads.