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.
Law & Lawyers
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.
The New CEOs
Whether utility leaders come from law, engineering, or finance, one thing can be said: Many of the new CEOs have had diverse experiences.
Our annual CEO survey looks at six new utility leaders: Mike Morris of AEP, Robert McGehee of Progress Energy, Michael Chesser of Great Plains Energy, Gary Rainwater of Ameren Corp., Dennis Wraase of PEPCO, and Paul Anderson of Duke Energy.
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.
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?
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?
Natural Gas Storage: Now More Than Ever
Fundamentals in the energy markets are converging to increase the need for incremental gas storage.
The natural gas market is approaching a dramatic turning point. The fundamentals in the energy markets are converging to increase the need for incremental gas storage and the way that storage is used and valued by the customer community.