There and Back Again
Why a residential demand rate developed 40 years ago is increasingly relevant today.
Why not design a rate that allocates the higher system cost to customers based on their actual energy demand?
Pricing
Bidding to Win: The Economics of Renewable RFPs
How project developers form their bidding strategies – and what it means for prices and the industry.
Want to find out what utilities seek when collecting bids for wind and solar projects? Read on.
Results-Based Regulation
A more dynamic approach to grid modernization.
The utility’s role is changing, and regulation must change along with it – to spur innovation and respond to evolving customer needs. Modernizing the industry will require a dynamic approach.
Energy Efficiency Unmasked
Regulatory formulas for rewarding efficiency investments.
Effective conservation incentives would send appropriate price signals to consumers. The more common approach, unfortunately, involves arbitrary standards that introduce market inefficiencies and ultimately harm consumers.
The Innovator's Dilemma
Assessing the risks and rewards of distributed energy strategies.
To embrace change or fight it? The choice to either act or wait and see is fraught with complexity.
Smart Grid Dilemma
Concerned stakeholders seek an equitable cost-benefit ratio for all ratepayers.
Fairness in paying for grid modernization is an essential element for successful smart grid projects.
Accentuate the Positive
A practical guide to explaining the value of the smart grid.
Despite challenges, grid modernization is paying off for customers. Smart grid progress depends on clarifying the vision and communicating value.
Economy of Small
How DG and microgrids change the game for utilities.
Energy microgrids have emerged as more than just a curiosity. The technology is improving, costs are falling, and developers are lining up to build projects. How will microgrids overcome the substantial challenges that stand in their way?
The Law of Unintended Consequences
The transition to distributed generation calls for a new regulatory model.
With the best of intentions, policymakers have encouraged the proliferation of distributed generation (DG) in various forms. Now, however, the trend toward DG is accelerating more rapidly than traditional utility ratemaking and business models are capable of managing. Failure to rationalize the regulatory framework will bring serious and costly disruption.
Islands in the Storm
Microgrids begin to make economic sense.
With microgrids in place, doomsday preppers wouldn't need to worry so much about a zombie plague.