The Generation Glut: When Will It End?
An analysis of the timing, location, and mix of new capacity additions that may be needed in the future.
An analysis of the timing, location, and mix of new capacity additions that may be needed in the future.
Law & Lawyers
Banking on Predictability
A renewed capital investment structure is required for long-term investment in power infrastructure.
What is the relationship between capital investment and sustainable power infrastructure? A Lehman Bros. investment banker argues for a financing mechanism similar to that used with Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act contracts.
Keys to Transmission and Distribution Reliability
A coordinated approach helps control costs.
T&D asset management — crucial to preventing future blackouts — boils down to capital budgeting and project prioritization.
Frontlines: Sticker Shock
Electricity rates may be heading skyward sooner than we think.
Even in regulated states, balancing shareholder interest against ratepayer interest is still more art than science. A fact that utilities will always dread, as long as there are rate cases.
People
People for April 2004.
Positions filled at the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Duke Energy, Entergy, and others.
Letter to the Editor
Letters for April 2004.
Cato's Peter Van Doren and Jerry Taylor analyzed the electricity crisis in "Rethinking Restructuring" (February 2004) and concluded that the solution to a bad situation is vertical integration and mandatory real-time pricing. In my opinion they have got it half right.
Benchmarks: Are Electricity Capacity Margins Really Growing?
New England's experience may redefine the term.
The U.S. capacity margin growth of 2002 should have eased upward pressures on electricity prices. However, electricity prices surged in many areas, such as New England, where surplus electricity capacity has developed. This suggests that the standard definition of capacity margin may not be appropriate in the context of current market realities.
In His Own Words
A face-to-face interview with FERC Chairman Pat Wood III.
In an exclusive interview, Executive Editor Richard Stavros, talks to FERC Chairman Pat Wood III about what the commission has in store for the electric utilities industry in 2004 and beyond.
T&O Rates: Premature End to A Good Thing?
Solving the dilemma.
FERC wants to eliminate direct T&O charges while at the same time compensating exporting transmissions systems through inefficient uplift charges.
Technology Corridor
Smaller systems aren't cost-effective.
It's time for a reality check on the commercial viability of wind farms. Are large wind systems more economical than small wind systems?