AEP Spreads the Sunshine
The utility teaches school kids about solar power.
A merican Electric Power (AEP) has launched an innovative program that uses solar power to teach school children about renewable energy while-hopefully-getting them interested in math and science. The "Learning from Light!" program was started in 1999 by AEP, and now boasts membership of its 100th school.
It's a hands-on project for the kids.
Reviewing FERC's omnipotence over markets.
Reviewing FERC's omnipotence over markets: Market players like Calpine say standard market design (SMD) and RTO issues "while laudable and important objectives … will do little to enhance wholesale competition if contract sanctity is not assured."
Who should have "green tag" ownership under power purchase agreements, the buyers or the sellers?
A legal controversy is brewing in the electric industry over who should reap the financial benefits of the green characteristics of power plants, under existing power purchase agreements (PPA).
In the rough-and-tumble energy biz, IT departments are paddling hard to stay afloat.
The storm that Enron ignited last fall shows little sign of abating. Information technology (IT) departments at every energy company have had to react to rapidly changing conditions, whether it be shrinking budgets or nervous workforces.
Why a risk-hedging product for small customers isn't the gamble you may think.
Some innovators in the electric industry recently began offering financial hedging products that absorb risk from large customers. Why not offer this kind of protection to customers with small electric loads? Protecting customers from price risk is the essence of flat pricing, and it is where a company can step in and capitalize.
Why rate base is back in style.
It's no surprise that traditional utilities are now fashionable with Wall Street. With merchant generation and energy trading gone bust, bankers, analysts, and fund managers at the 37th Edison Electric Institute Financial Conference, held last month in Palm Springs, Calif., were falling over themselves to find those regulated gems overlooked during the energy merchant boom years.
The Association of Edison Illuminating Cos. (AEIC) elected new officers. Thomas Shockley III, vice chairman and chief operating officer of American Electric Power, was elected president of AEIC. Elected as first vice president was Peter Burg, chairman and CEO of FirstEnergy. Richard Grigg, president and COO of We Energies, was elected second vice president.
As Latin America swoons, the electricity sector holds on tight.
Fighting to Privatize
As Latin America swoons, the electricity sector holds on tight.
The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) World Economic Outlook September 2002 gives a fragile outlook in the short-term for Latin America. In 2002, regional output contracted by 2.5 percent in the first quarter (compared with the final quarter of 2001) and is expected to fall in 2002 as a whole, according to the IMF.
FERC's Standard Market Design: Too Detailed To Evolve
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's standard market design (SMD) proposal states objectives that are important and supportable, both theoretically and empirically. Uniform rules and business practices reduce transaction costs and limit opportunities for institutional arbitrage, increase the extent of the market, and increase market liquidity and investment.