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Law & Lawyers

Business & Money: The Back-to-Basics Valuation Squeeze

An analysis of the strategic implications of the re-basing of power and utility industry valuations.

Many utilities are again focusing on perhaps the most viable, broad-based and credible growth strategy: mergers and acquisitions. Combined with supportive regulatory policies, the derived consolidation values of scale, cost-savings and synergies can be leveraged to benefit the public interest as well. Considerations of shareholder value and public policy require it.
Byline: 

Ian Connor

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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.
Byline: 

Jamie Craddock and Bill Hogue

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Solving The Crisis In Unscheduled Power

While NAESB and NERC struggle over the issue, North America steadily drifts toward unreliability.

How should power flowing between NERC-certified balancing authorities be priced? The author proposes a formula.
Byline: 

Robert Blohm

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Facing the Death Penalty

Did FERC's market power ruling go too far?

Market-based sales put at risk are the financial lifeblood of some utilities, especially those of the multi-billion-dollar, vertically integrated variety. Those that fail FERC's market-power test will be forced to sell their excess generation at cost-based rates — a "death penalty," according to some utility CEOs.
Byline: 

Richard Stavros

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People

People for August 2004.

Positions filled at FERC, Colorado PUC, CMS Energy, and others.
Byline: 

PUF

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It's Back

Energy trading returns, healthier and wiser.

As the overall market and, in particular, credit ratings begin to improve, will utilities and other energy players jump back into the energy trading market? Only if the return of trading adds real value to a company.
Byline: 

Gary L. Hunt and Grant Thain

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Building a Digital Utility: A Question of Survival

EPRI challenges the industry to modernize the grid.

Modernization of the U.S. power system is one of the most important policy steps that this nation can, and must, take. It may not be the most dramatic step, but it is the most important step toward ensuring the future welfare and livelihood of this nation.
Byline: 

Kurt Yeager

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Business & Money: Fencing in the Regulated Utilities

Credit-rating linkage harms certain power companies. Ring-fencing is the best answer for regulators.

Ring-fencing may be the only regulatory device capable of leveling the playing field and forcing the holding companies to absorb the consequences of failed non-utility investments.
Byline: 

Dr. Fred Grygiel and John Garvey

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Perspective: Leave Green-Power Quotas to the States

Congress should not impose a federal renewable portfolio standard.

The adoption of an RPS by more than a dozen states has inspired and contributed to proposals for a federal green-power quota. Leave the green-power quotas to the states. PURPA should be amended to include an RPS among the retail policies that can be adopted or rejected by state public service commissions.
Byline: 

James W. Moeller

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A Market-Access Plan for Vertically Integrated Utilities

Assimilating the best of the regulated-utility and merchant models.

We propose a market-access plan (MAP) that does not advocate sweeping changes. It instead builds on existing VIU frameworks with structural improvements that are technically feasible, cost-effective, and politically practicable. The result assimilates the best of the VIU and merchant models; benefits the industry investment climate; increases the level of low-cost, efficient, and environmentally friendly power supplies; and promises to save customers millions of dollars.
Byline: 

Larry Eisenstat, Pat Alexander, and Don Gelinas

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