Electricity Market Reform in Japan
Bumpy Road Ahead
This is the first in a series of three articles related to power market reform in Japan and its implications both for Japan and globally.
Retail Markets
Tale of Two Grids
What a review of PUC cases tells us about the future of consumer technology and grid modernization.
There may be a more fundamental schism that raises fundamental questions about the role of the distribution utility and footprint of the natural monopoly.
Aggregation 2.0: Evolution of Customer Engagement with Retail Choice?
An innovative approach to targeted retail aggregation.
No state has had the same initial success with municipal aggregation as Illinois, where more than 650 local governments enrolled 70 percent of residential consumers into municipal aggregation contracts. The pathway forward in Illinois provides a model to help get programs off the ground in all retail choice states.
FERC Chasing the Uncatchable
Trying to fix mandatory capacity markets like trying to win whack-a-mole, Part I
FERC’s efforts to get capacity markets “right” have led to endless – and futile – tinkering. The cure proposed – making capacity auction markets mandatory – has unfortunately proved far worse than the disease.
Enron's Lessons
Are regulators managing market manipulation?
Some will stray from ethical behavior. But markets must be regulated to maintain confidence.
PJM's Three-Way Proposal
A re-defined capacity product, revised parameters for generator performance, and a new role for demand response.
The proposal creates a new capacity product called the “Capacity Performance Resource.”
Playing Safe with Capacity Markets
PJM would minimize risk, but so did regulation.
Changes envisioned by PJM call for ever more structured markets, further reducing the scope of the competitive landscape from which RTOs arose. They may produce a system that is actually more costly and less innovative than regulation.
Rent the Rooftop
A new front opens in the solar wars.
Has Arizona Public Service found a way to cheat the death spiral?
Smaller, Cheaper, and More Resilient
The rationale for microgrids.
Despite an array of challenges, microgrids are becoming a force in the market. Innovative projects bring greater efficiency and resilience.
Efficiency Beyond the Low Fruit
Continuous improvement requires changing practices and cultural norms.
As efficiency programs mature, utilities and regulators will be challenged to keep producing demand-side resources. A systems-oriented approach can yield cost-effective results.