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Strategy & Planning

Frontlines: You're Fired!

Utilities have little to show for the millions they pay in campaign contributions.

If Donald Trump could call Congress on the carpet, he would send lawmakers packing with those two now infamous words, “You’re fired!” from his reality TV show “The Apprentice.” Now think of how many times Congress has failed to pass an energy bill without incident.
Byline: 

Richard Stavros

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Banking on Predictability

A renewed capital investment structure is required for long-term investment in power infrastructure.

What is the relationship between capital investment and sustainable power infrastructure? A Lehman Bros. investment banker argues for a financing mechanism similar to that used with Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act contracts.
Byline: 

Frank A. Napolitano

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The Generation Glut: When Will It End?

An analysis of the timing, location, and mix of new capacity additions that may be needed in the future.

An analysis of the timing, location, and mix of new capacity additions that may be needed in the future.
Byline: 

Stephen T. Marron & John H. Wile

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Merchant Costs: Reckless Abandonment?

Some independent power producers failed to contain capital and O&M costs, adding to financial pressures.

By following some basic principles, electricity generators can conserve cash, manage risk, and thereby increase value.
Byline: 

Holt Bradshaw

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Letter to the Editor

Letters for April 2004.

Cato's Peter Van Doren and Jerry Taylor analyzed the electricity crisis in "Rethinking Restructuring" (February 2004) and concluded that the solution to a bad situation is vertical integration and mandatory real-time pricing. In my opinion they have got it half right.
Byline: 

Jim Johnston

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Frontlines: Sticker Shock

Electricity rates may be heading skyward sooner than we think.

Even in regulated states, balancing shareholder interest against ratepayer interest is still more art than science. A fact that utilities will always dread, as long as there are rate cases.
Byline: 

Richard Stavros

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NERC's Cloudy Crystal Ball

How much confidence do NERC demand forecasts warrant?

NERC’s forecasts for peak demand growth have consistently underestimated actual levels of growth. How does that affect projections for new construction?
Byline: 

Tom Replogle

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The Reliability Spending Conundrum

What is the right and prudent level of spending on service?

Utilities and regulators who want to determine the right level of spending on service quality should employ three tests: trending, benchmarking, and modeling.
Byline: 

Daniel O'Neill

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The Road Not Taken

Revisiting performance-based rates with endogenous market designs.

Have regulators selected the wrong market design in their restructurings during the past two decades?
Byline: 

Francis J. Cronin and Stephen A. Motluk

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