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Essential Role of Fossil Fuels in Future Economic Growth

Essential in the 20th Century, and in the 21st

World economic growth over the past two centuries was powered largely by fossil fuels. More than 75 million people are being added to cities globally each year, driving greater energy and infrastructure needs. Fossil fuels will remain the essential global energy sources.
Byline: 

Roger H. Bezdek

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Averting Disaster on the Grid

Strategy to Mitigate Risks of Catastrophic Events

Grid Assurance is a coalition of six major U.S. utilities dedicated to providing a cost-effective solution to address the increasing threats to the security of power supplies. Grid Assurance and its consultants created a first-of-a-kind framework to help reduce restoration times following a severe attack from months to weeks or days.
Byline: 

Harjeet Johal, Kenneth Collison, Elliot Roseman, Dan Rogier

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Reshaping Energy

Transition to Renewables Minimizing Societal Cost

Implementation of renewables is much more complex than simply replacing fossil fuel plants with renewables. We must transition to renewables. But let's make sure we transition to the package that minimizes total societal cost.
Byline: 

Charles Bayless

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Competing Perspectives on Demand Charges

Survey of consumer advocates identifies areas of agreement and disagreement

This article summarizes perspectives on both sides of the demand charge issue. Based on this review, it proposes practical initiatives to address key concerns about residential demand charges.
Byline: 

Ryan Hledik and Ahmad Faruqui

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Energy People: Bob Catell

We talked with Bob Catell, former deputy chairman of National Grid plc.

Bob Catell was formerly chairman and CEO of KeySpan Corporation, the former Brooklyn Union Gas. He’s presently chairman of the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center at Stony Brook University, and of the New York State Smart Grid Consortium.
Byline: 

Bob Catell, with Steve Mitnick

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Lessons for Tomorrow's Deals

Many Deals Completed, What Have We Learned?

Almost half of the last 20 non-financial buyer transactions have been companies more than 500 miles away from one another. The value of scale lies in enhanced flexibility rather than size for its own sake. Finishing the job of integration is fundamental to success.
Byline: 

Tom Flaherty

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Legacy and Generations

We’ll Soon Hand You the Baton

The pasts and futures of automobiles and electricity are remarkably similar. They first inspired a generation. That generation’s grandchildren associate these venerable industries with environmental despoilment and technological obsolescence.
Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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How Electric/Gas Utility Expenses Vary by Age

As households age, they spend less on electricity in dollars, but more as a percent of all their expenditures

The Labor Department has published Consumer Expenditure Survey data on how Americans of different ages spend differently. The survey shows how age affects expenses for electric and natural gas utility service. 

Twenty-two percent of households were classified as the youngest. Those surveyed averaged twenty-seven years old. 

These households spent $1,125 on electric service, on average, during the twelve months through June 2015. 

Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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