Accounting & Depreciation

Effective Asset Management

Setting the Standards

“EPAC’s philosophy is that the industry can and must work together to proactively and voluntarily advance its own standards, rather than waiting for mandates to be imposed.”

Inflation, Monetary Policy, Interest Rates

Implications for Utilities and Regulators

Panelists brought together by University of Missouri’s Financial Research Institute included Big Rivers Electric Corp. CFO Talina Mathews, Energize Strategies Founder Ted Thomas, NASUCA Executive Director David Springe, and Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Lead Economist William Emmons.

The Power of Innovation, Part II

Utility Execs' Roundtable: We sat down with five utility execs who lead their companies on innovation

Migrating to a model that focuses on product and service volume to produce margins is a fundamental shift. But the challenge these executives acknowledge is learning how to blend several unique business models as the scope of their business expands.

Grand Theft with Capital Recovery

Western utility economics puzzle former Communists

I am not sure how many older generation post-communist managers stayed in such positions after the introduction of capitalism and national programs of commercialization and privatization. Under the communist system, the public utility services bill was based on pricing principles far removed from any notion of the cost of the services.

2016 Annual Rate Case Survey

It is often said that ratemaking is as much art as science.

It is the process of setting a return on equity that is fair to both shareholders and consumers that demonstrates the art and science practiced by regulators. One case reported here provides a good glimpse at the entire range of issues put before regulators: a decision by the Michigan Public Service Commission setting electric rates for Consumers Energy Company.

Innovation and Capital Recovery

A History of Public Utility Regulation

The electric power industry is the key industry in our society. Nothing can function without adequate, reliable, fairly-priced produced and delivered electric service. Getting the capital recovery or depreciation right is not optional.