Strategy & Planning

Georgia: On Becoming a Social Media Junkie

2015 Regulators Forum

Being in the “energy” business as a commissioner, staff, lobbyist or industry leader is hard enough without social media, right? When you add Twitter and Facebook to the mix, it is enough to drive one crazy. Who needs it? Well, we all do, really.
Byline: 

Tim Echols, Georgia PSC

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South Dakota: A Unique Fuel Mix

Chris Nelson, vice-chairman, South Dakota Pub. Utils. Comm’n

Seventy-three percent of our generation is carbon-free, yet the EPA’s 111(d) rules require a 48 percent reduction in our CO2 emission rate. That steep reduction will be very difficult to achieve and will be costly for our electric customers. The commission’s chief concern is keeping a lid on consumer prices, especially given the pressure exerted by EPA.
Byline: 

2015 Regulators Forum

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Oregon: Situated Quite Well

2015 Regulators Forum

States that have coal-dependent economies will likely have more difficulty complying with the Clean Power Plan than states like Oregon. There will be rate impacts to be sure. The trick will be compliance at the most reasonable cost that that can be assured.
Byline: 

Susan Ackerman, chair, Oregon PUC

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2015 Regulators Forum

State Utility Commissioners in Their Own Words

Susan Ackerman, chair, Oregon PUC; Chris Nelson, vice-chairman, South Dakota PUC; Tim G. Echols, Georgia PSC; Paul J. Roberti, Rhode Island PUC
Byline: 

Susan Ackerman, Chris Nelson, Tim G. Echols, and Paul J. Roberti

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Growth Through Productivity

Enterprise Management: Taking a wider view of asset management.

Utility executives today see few choices if they wish to achieve growth. Better scheduling can improve overall productivity by 10-15 percent, offering the potential for growth. Yet it is not sufficient simply to focus narrowly on work execution in the field.
Byline: 

Mark Hoffman and Jagoron Mukherjee

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Microgrids: Where's the Beef?

Integration beats islanding, anyway you slice it.

A microgrid is a throwback. It’s anathema to what we know about economies of scale. Integration is what maximizes the ability of least-cost resources to reach load. By interfering with least-cost dispatch, microgrids can only raise energy costs.
Byline: 

Steve Huntoon

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From Grid to Cloud

A network of networks – in search of an orchestrator.

The Energy Cloud will change the way we generate, store, and consume energy by changing from a one-way power flow to a dynamic network of networks supporting two-way energy and information flows.
Byline: 

Jan Vrins, Hector Artze, Richard Shandross, and Mackinnon Lawrence

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Hailed a Taxi Lately?

Economic disruption and the future of electric utilities.

Other industries deregulated and it reduced prices and encouraged innovation. What happened to the utility sector?
Byline: 

Leonard S. Hyman, CFA

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Grid Neutrality

Five Principles for Tomorrow’s Electricity Sector

Just as net neutrality seeks to maintain a fair and open Internet, the concept of grid neutrality emphasizes a fair and open electricity network.
Byline: 

Jenny Hu, Shayle Kann, James Tong & Jon Wellinghoff

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Life Without Building Block 4

Energy Efficiency under EPA’s Final Clean Power Plan.

Energy efficiency remains the most cost-effective route to compliance with the Clean Power Plan. In the final Clean Power Plan rule issued August 3, 2015, EPA did not include Energy Efficiency in the calculations used to develop state targets. However, EPA and the White House have made it abundantly clear that energy efficiency remains just as viable a compliance option as before.
Byline: 

John Hargrove

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