Frontlines
Carrots haven't worked. FERC needs to get tough on backing its SMD vision.
PJM
FERC's Market Design: The End of a 'Noble Dream'
How state opposition cowed the feds and turned a powerful rule into just a set of talking points.
How state opposition cowed the feds and turned a powerful rule into just a set of talking points.
A funny thing happened on the way to a standard market design (SMD). What began as a full-fledged rulemaking-with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) giving instructions and imposing deadlines on the electric utility industry-now has degenerated into little more than a set of talking points.
Talk about cold feet.
Commission Watch
FERC looks ahead to the new year as it wraps up loose ends from 2002.
FERC: SMD/Grid Issues Lead 2003 Agenda
People
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California Gov. Gray Davis named Michael Peevey president of the state's PUC, replacing Loretta Lynch. Lynch was expected to remain with the commission until the completion of her term, in January 2005. Peevey has served on the commission since March of 2002. He previously was president of Edison International. Davis also appointed Susan Kennedy commissioner, replacing Henry Duque.
Richard G. Newman, chairman and CEO of AECOM Technology Corp., joined the Sempra Energy board of directors.
Commission Watch
The case for participant-funded transmission.
Planned or Private?
People
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A Blueprint for DG
Presenting a fair and simple distributed generation plan for utilities and policy-makers.
Presenting a fair and simple distributed generation plan for utilities and policy-makers.
Distributed generation (DG) continues to face many institutional barriers erected before the technology emerged as an economic alternative. Chief among these barriers are existing rate and regulatory regimes, which fail to offer appropriate incentives to utilities and customers who might otherwise substitute DG facilities for distribution and generation.
The CIO Forum: IT Weathers the Storm
In the rough-and-tumble energy biz, IT departments are paddling hard to stay afloat.
In the rough-and-tumble energy biz, IT departments are paddling hard to stay afloat.
The storm that Enron ignited last fall shows little sign of abating. Information technology (IT) departments at every energy company have had to react to rapidly changing conditions, whether it be shrinking budgets or nervous workforces.
The Fourth Wave
Are banks better at trading power than utilities?
Bank of America's recent request to FERC to be allowed to trade power was yet one more reminder that a whole new class of companies are quietly positioning themselves to dominate what's left of the energy trading space after the departure of traders like Enron and Aquila.
M&A for T&D
Grid system operators now hold the cards. That means a bidding war for talent and a new wave of mergers.
Grid system operators now hold the cards. That means a bidding war for talent and a new wave of mergers.
TBy issuing new rules for a Standard Market Design (SMD) for wholesale power, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in all likelihood will usher in a new wave of utility mergers. But the pattern will differ from what we have seen in recent years.
The deals will center on the transmission sector, and take a horizontal shape, rather than vertical.