People
People for July 2004.
Positions filled at American Electric Power, Schneider Electric, Foster Wheeler Energy Limited, and others.
Lost in Translation
Critics say FERC's filed rate doctrine is wrong for the times.
It’s quite remarkable how the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has been able to pound a square peg into a round hole. With not much more than a wink and a smile, FERC has taken a depression-era law meant for monopolies — the Federal Power Act — and has made it serve double duty as a foundation for competitive power markets. Yet FERC’s reinterpretation, for all its good intentions, may prove inadequate in the long run to define and support full-fledged energy markets.
Managing Service Quality: The Customer Is Always Right
Service-quality improvements need to be thought through in advance and managed.
Service quality improvements need to be thought through in advance and managed.
Gen-X and Gen-Y: Teaching Them the Business
How to bridge the age gap between older and younger workers in the utility industry.
An urgent need has arisen to pass on institutional knowledge to younger generations. But which teaching methods are best?
Biling, Blackouts, and the Obligation to Serve
Complex billing is one way to minimize the size and frequency of blackouts.
Complex billing software allows for demand-response program while maximizing the effectiveness of current resources.
Boardroom Directors: Caught in the Matrix
Building a system to evaluate the leadership's ability to meet corporate goals.
Discover your board’s unique strengths and weaknesses by developing a simple matrix chart — and addressing any gaps.
Risk-Management Principles for the Utility CEO
Board coordination is the key.
The responsibility for integrated risk management now lies squarely on the shoulders of the utility CEO. Eight principles can help guide them.
Consolidating Co-ops
Like it or not, changes are coming for electric cooperatives. Fewer and bigger might be the inevitable result.
Most electric co-ops remain small, local entities. But that historic strength may be keeping them from fulfilling their primary mission—to provide reliable electricity for the lowest possible cost.
Boardroom Showdown
Investors are revolting against poor corporate governance, demanding tighter controls that will boost earnings and stock price.
Does good governance lead to superior financial performance? Some large institutional shareholders think so, and they’re pushing for changes. Will your company be affected?
Envision the Utility of Tomorrow
How will the industry change in the future?
Scale, synergies, and automation will transform tomorrow’s utilities, as will deregulation. But new management strategies and new technology also will play a part.