People
People for June 2004.
Positions filled at Southern Co., Mirant, MISO, and others.
Future Shock
The U.S. faces a near doubling of population this century. Will there be enough power for the people?
In the early 20th century, a mere 247,000 out of a potential 5 million customers had electricity, according to the National Academy of Engineers. Today, the investor-owned utility industry serves almost half of the 293 million who live in the United States. The average number of electric utility customers has run as high as 135 million, according to Energy Velocity. The industry has come a long way. But looking to the future, one sees clouds beginning to form. The answers to the questions become more difficult. The limitations and the obstacles increase. As we see a linear increase in demand, the difficulty of meeting that demand grows exponentially.
Metering and Billing: Building a Better Pricing System
Two-part real-time pricing reflects the two-part pricing found in other business sectors.
Georgia Power Co., Duke Power Co., and their customers have reaped the benefits of two-part real-time pricing (RTP) for nearly 10 years. This structure has been a perfectly acceptable and efficient means to price electricity, but a second structure for pricing electricity can now be introduced. Either structure is sound and efficacious. Each methodology has its advantages, and utilities should consider which method best serves their needs.
Triggering Nuclear Development
What construction cost might prompt orders for new nuclear power plants in Texas?
Evaluating the risk associated with new capacity investments is essential in today’s uncertain energy market, but a new business model could jumpstart nuclear plant investment.
Preparing for a Nuclear Exchange
Three ways to value nuclear power plants for buyers and sellers.
Appraisers don’t make the market — they reflect it — using three approaches to help buyers and sellers of nuclear assets determine plant value.
FERC's GulfTerra Orders: Changes in the Pipeline
A new FERC decision veers away from congressional intent not to burden intrastate pipelines with interstate policies.
Two recent orders in a GulfTerra Texas Pipeline LP rate case make new precedent for Natural Gas Policy Act intrastate pipelines providing interstate transportation.
North American CIS Market In Transformation
Deregulation is the stimulus for a larger CIS footprint.
To achieve operational efficacy after harvesting the low-hanging fruit of cost reduction in customer care and billing, CIS products will need to integrate the complex business processes that cross the borders of several enterprise applications.
CIS: The New Profit Machine
How IT can allow utilities to invest in customers — and even improve returns — without breaking the bank.
The North American CIS market is undergoing a transformation. What should utilities expect from a CIS system? What should they spend? And, is CIS system replacement always the answer?
Business & Money: Bringing Back The Greenbacks
A spate of proposed U.S. tax rule changes soon may open a window of opportunity for certain utilities.
The proposed Homeland Investment Act on Repatriation may soon open a window of opportunity for U.S. companies with unrepatriated foreign earnings. If passed, it potentially would allow U.S. utilities to bring money back into the country without harsh tax penalties, thereby freeing up capital to reinvest in assets here, pay down U.S. debt, or fund other liabilities.
Commission Watch: The Tyranny of FERC
The commission's power grab over bankruptcy courts condemns merchants to a corporate netherworld.
A new district court decision out of Texas tilts the field in favor of FERC's assertion of exclusive authority over who decides whether a debtor can terminate unprofitable power contracts. For merchant energy companies struggling with dwindling capital and mounting credit risks, this change could mean bankruptcy is no longer a viable option for reorganizing.