[BETA] Fortnightly

Southern Company makes changes in operations and power subsidiaries; Michael Chesser to leave KCPL board; Dynegy names new e.v.p.; Rolando Pablos resigns from Texas PUC; In Memoriam: Kris R. Nielsen.

(September 2012) Our annual financial ranking shows some remarkable shifts among the industry’s shareholder value leaders. Despite flat demand and low commodity prices, investor-owned utilities are investing heavily in capital assets. Investment discipline and operational excellence distinguish leaders on the path to financial performance.

Utilities get little credit for their efforts to strengthen the sustainability of their businesses. But these efforts have paid dividends in stock performance, capital costs, regulatory relationships, and brand value. Capturing the greatest value for shareholders will require utilities to become better understood as socially responsible enterprises.

(December 2011) Lafayette Utilities System selects Elster’s EnergyAxis as its AMI system; ABB wins contract from Hydro-Quebec; Sapphire Power Holdings acquires gas-fired power generation from Morris Energy Group; Consumers Energy awards contract to Babcock & Wilcox; plus announcements and contracts involving BP Wind Energy, Abengoa Solar, Samsung C&T and others.

(November 2011) Exelon and Constellation announce post-merger executive lineup; Xcel Energy names new CFO and general counsel; Organization of MISO States elects new officer; plus senior staff changes at FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating, American Electric Power, Alterra Power, and others.

(August 2011) Dynegy names new president, adds three former NRG execs to corporate staff; Pace Global Energy Services announces new v.p. in the renewable energy development group; Mid Atlantic Conference of Regulatory Utilities Commissioners elects president; plus senior staff changes at Sempra Energy, Southern Company, Constellation Energy Nuclear Group, and others.

(June 2011) Duke and ATC team up to build transmission lines; AEP installs bioreactor to control selenium emissions; NextEra buys 100 MW of wind from Google; Ocean Power Technologies awards contracts for wave power array; Kansas City picks Elster; BC Hydro picks Itron; plus contracts and developments involving Tres Amigas, Ioxus, Opower and others.

(April 2011) Ameren announces new executive positions; The New York State Smart Grid Consortium names first executive director; Constellation Energy selects lead for solar sales and green initiatives; plus senior staff changes at Puget Sound Energy, Baltimore Gas & Electric, Pacific Gas and Electric, Central Vermont Public Service, Tennessee Valley Authority, and others.

(November 2010) DTE names Gerard Anderson CEO; Arthur Meyer ascends to general counsel at Dayton Power & Light and DPL; Exelon names new executives, including Calvin Butler, s.v.p. of human resources and Susan Weiss, v.p. of commercial operations; Deloitte Center for Energy Solutions appoints former FERC Commissioner Branko Terzic executive director, and adds former FERC Commissioner William Hederman to its energy and resources group; other executive changes at OGE Energy, Ameren, Chesapeake Utilities, El Paso Electric, Otter Tail, ISO New England, EPRI, AGA, NIST, and more.

Utilities are taking advantage of a sweet spot in the capital markets, pre-funding and refinancing at record low rates. But cheap money won’t resolve overhanging uncertainties preventing cap-ex projects and M&A deals. Greater certainty in America’s economic and policy outlook will clear a path for strategic change.