Strategy & Planning

Expanding Deals, Shrinking Companies

After 20 years of consolidation, the industry looks distinctly different.

Today the focus has returned to building scale, as well as enhancing market access, financial stability, asset portfolio mix, and customer scale.

How Many Does It Take to Screw in a Light Bulb?

Organized markets will ensure the optimal number of bulbs are screwed in, at the marginal cost of bulb screwing.

How many utility commissioners does it take to screw in a light bulb?

Five. A problem for three-person commissions. Three commissioners to hear testimony on whether changing the bulb is in the public interest. One more commissioner to direct staff to write the decision and order, to screw it in. And a fifth commissioner to hear appeals, as to whether screwing it in is actually least cost.

How many utility rate managers does it take to screw in a light bulb?

A Five-Point Plan For The Next Wave Of Electricity Restructuring

The monopoly utility model was once expansive and revolutionary. Now, it is contracting and preservationist.

A plan for restructuring: Delivery service pricing reform; devolution of generation and re-allocating risk; stranded cost recovery; distributed resources neutrality; optimization of service offerings.

Are Utilities and Government Skimping on R&D?

The future of the energy sector and environment is at stake.

Public utility regulation has a role to play in stimulating R&D by energy utilities. Studies have confirmed that social returns on R&D are much greater than private returns, evidence supporting government involvement (e.g., via funding or performance) in R&D.

Framing Virtual Reality

What’s old is truly new again.

Virtual reality – a fully immersive, all-encompassing experience – has, for decades, captured the imagination of science fiction writers and tech innovators alike. How will this technology change the way we communicate or transact business?

An Industry Transformed

Looking back on my 45 years in the energy sector.

By diving into today’s more diverse energy sector and embracing change, utilities stand to benefit over the long term. This is precisely why I am so excited about the future, even if I do occasionally look back wistfully on the past.

Reinvigorating a Century Old Business Model

The Power of Efficient Capital

Customers don’t have to wait decades while the grid incrementally evolves to incorporate transformational technologies. Led by customer-driven choices and decisions, we in the utility industry can and should accelerate the transition.