Infrastructure

Power Breakfast

Fortnightly’s Executive Roundtable considers industry options and risks.

Fortnightly recently convened a group of senior operations executives from a variety of companies to discuss current trends in the U.S. power industry. Their comments reflect a mixed outlook on the industry’s transitionary changes.

Innovation Mandate

Meeting the just-and-reasonable standard in a time of change.

Who can say for sure if markets are working? The landscape keeps shifting.

Utility 2.0 and the Dynamic Microgrid

Superstorm disruption calls for a new utility architecture.

When microgrids are optimized in a smart grid, they’ll usher in a new era of utility resilience and flexibility. Get ready for dynamic microgrids.

Game Changers

State regulators address transformative forces.

In Fortnightly’s Regulators’ Roundtable, commissioners from Idaho, Illinois, and Minnesota consider transformative forces and the regulatory response.

All You Need to Know

Picturing utilities in a series of sobering snapshots.

Utilities are growing rate base despite static or declining demand: making customers pay more for a product they want less of.

What Price, Resiliency?

Evaluating the cost effectiveness of grid-hardening investments.

As with any investment, resiliency upgrades can reach a point of diminishing returns. Analyzing the costs and benefits can help guide upgrade strategies.

Low Tech Resilience

Portable small-scale generators could keep vital services on line during a major power outage.

High-voltage generation reserves cost more than would portable, small-scale units to keep critical services on line during a major power outage.

Toward a Self-healing Smart Grid

Advanced distribution management technology promises to revolutionize operations.

Building blocks of the self-healing grid are taking shape. End-to-end integration will enable the grid to achieve 21st-century resilience.

Accentuate the Positive

A practical guide to explaining the value of the smart grid.

Despite challenges, grid modernization is paying off for customers. Smart grid progress depends on clarifying the vision and communicating value.

SGIP, New and Improved

Making the case for collaboration on interoperability standards

The mission of harmonizing industry standards moves forward in the work of the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel 2.0, Inc.