FERC faces a growing chorus of rebellion on earnings incentives.

"If I may say, today, we the states are the chosen ones." That was Virginia utility commissioner Hullihen ("Hulli") W. Moore, speaking on the phone in January with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Pat Wood and other federal and state regulators, trying to untangle the business of transmission reform.

PUCs could face rate shock if feds push plans for an RTO signup bonus.

State PUCs will surely weigh in on the latest move by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to work its will on the nation's electric transmission grid. In this case, the item in question concerns a policy statement proposed by FERC that would reward electric utilities for investing in new transmission upgrades and-more importantly-for joining up with a regional transmission organization (RTO).

Measuring Up to Jensen

 

 

A top investor explains what it would take for utilities to be included in one of the best-performing funds in the U.S.

Passing the standards for inclusion in the $1 billion plus Jensen Portfolio Fund is like being crowned the best-of-the-best in a given industry, analysts say.

Looking beyond ranking utilities on price.

It's tempting to compare rates between utilities- to use those simple rankings as regulatory carrots and sticks-but those who do may play a dangerous game. While such rankings may appear compelling, they can add an inappropriate bias to the regulatory process and penalize well-performing electric utilities that operate in high-cost service territories, such as large metropolitan areas.

Results of the annual survey of energy utility rate proceedings.

With interest rates at record lows, it is not surprising to find downward pressure on allowances for return on equity (ROE) set by state public utility commissions in retail rate cases. (The table presented herein shows the results of our annual survey of authorized rates of return on common equity for state-regulated energy utilities.)

 

Some thoughts on who should take the lead and how to set up financial incentives.

One of the most interesting questions that arises from federal restructuring of the electric grid, with regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and a standard market design (SMD), concerns the risk of building transmission in an RTO environment.

His company, he admits, is all about cherry picking.

This issue we took some time off to have some fun. We caught up with Trans-Elect president and COO Bernie Schroeder in downtown D.C.