Fortnightly Magazine - November 2006

The Fallacy of High Prices

We are better off under restructured electric markets.

The most important action regulators can take to minimize consumer electricity costs is, and will continue to be, ensuring competitive wholesale markets, while demanding a rich mixture of products from the suppliers in these markets.

Demystifying Intelligent Networks

Why the next wave of transformation is already upon us.

The electricity system in the United States received renewed attention after the August 2003 blackout that affected more than 50 million customers across the Northeast United States and caused billions of dollars of damage to the U.S. economy. This blackout became a call to action as the event exposed the United States’ dependency on a vulnerable infrastructure. The intelligent network is one of the results of that call to action.

Letters to the Editor

Ken Glozer, President, OMB Professionals Inc.: “The Geopolitics of the Grid” was well done. I enjoyed reading it. Regarding the paragraph raising questions about why there are major disparities in retail electric rates from one region of the country to another, one major contributing reason is archaic and unfair federal subsidies.

Anonymous: “Gravy Train” articulately summarized the emerging tension between utility executive compensation and “return to basics” corporate strategies.

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