Fortnightly Magazine - April 2009

Saving Depreciation Accounting

Avoiding ‘earnings management’ requires transparency in reporting standards.

The SEC is taking steps toward substituting International Financial Reporting Standards for U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Having certainty surrounding existing utility asset and depreciation accounting practices enhances the ability to use financial statements to accurately depict the results of operations and financial status of reporting entities.

Federalizing the Grid

Renewable mandates will shift power to FERC but pose problems for RTOs.

A recent survey conducted by the U.S Office of Personnel Management and reported by the Washington Post on March 13 ranked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as eighth best of some 37 federal agencies in terms “talent,” and third in “leadership and knowledge.”

Making Efficiency Cool

A new business plan for capturing big saving.

Historically, conservation has suffered from a fundamental challenge: it’s boring. But as efficiency becomes the first fuel, providers of efficiency services will begin to look more like businesses and less like government agencies—characterized by dynamic branding, with marketing strategies driven by customer science.

Carbon and the Constitution

State GHG policies confront federal roadblocks.

So far, states have taken the lead in carbon-control strategies. These state actions, however, could lead to constitutional conflicts—as recent court battles demonstrate. Only the U.S. Congress can regulate interstate trade, so states must step carefully in controlling carbon leakage.

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