[BETA] Fortnightly

Sempra board names Debra Reed chairman; Entergy utilities and FENOC appoint new CEOs; Rep. Heath Shuler becomes Duke’s federal affairs v.p.; Dominion gets new CIO; NARUC names new officers; plus executive appointments at Constellation, ITC Holdings, Gas Technology Institute, and others.

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

High prices have turned Michigan against regional planning -- a possible foretaste of what to expect under FERC Order 1000.

State commissions can select from a toolkit of regulatory approaches to promote desired utility cybersecurity behavior. One approach is to allow the industry to selfregulate, and another approach is to leave the job to the federal government. But sofar, neither the industry nor the federal government have developed and implemented adequate standards for securing the smart grid. States can play a constructive role—albeit perhaps not in the form of traditional regulation.

Customers in some markets are demanding the right to opt out of smart meter deployments. Their concerns involve radio frequency (RF) emissions and potential privacy breaches. Whether these concerns are valid or not, some regulators are requiring options for customers who don’t want smart meters. The right approach can satisfy concerns without undue costs and complexities.

(January 2012) American Electric names new vice presidents; Northeast Utilities announces executive changes; Southern Nuclear and Peabody Energy name new vice presidents; plus senior staff changes at IDACORP, Georgia Power, Conservation Services Group, and others.

Six years after Congress granted FERC “backstop” siting authority for electric transmission projects in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the regulatory landscape is still evolving as a result of federal court decisions and new FERC orders. But despite a lack of certainty at the federal level, project sponsors have filed numerous applications at the state level for new transmission projects. Can these projects proceed without greater certainty at FERC?

NARUC elects new Executive Committee, Arizona State University chooses former ACC Commissioner Mayes as head of new program at Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, executive announcements at Southern Company, Calpine, Dominion and more.

The Department of Energy assembled an all-star Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future. With such political and industry heavyweights as Brent Scowcroft, Lee Hamilton and John Rowe, the commission must be taken seriously. But can a broadly focused committee finish the decades-long battle to close the nuclear fuel cycle?