Transactions
(March 2009)
Law & Lawyers
People (March 2009)
Hawaiian Electric Industries named James A. Ajello senior financial v.p., treasurer and CFO. Black Hills Corp. selected Robert A. Myers as senior v.p. of human resources. Constellation Energy appointed Carim V. Khouzami as executive director, investor relations. And others...
Real-Time Control
Engaging customers will require more than TOU pricing.
Imagine a setback thermostat programmed at the factory that the consumer couldn’t modify. Who would want this device? You could give the customer a big enough discount to get her to accept the device, but she would be happier and you could save about as much energy if the customer could decide on the temperature and time settings.
Paying for the Green Grid
Subsidies might not be the best solution for interconnecting renewables.
Supporters of renewable energy are seeking to socialize the cost of a new interstate highway system for transporting green power. But utilities and transmission owners will build or finance new transmission systems to serve economic demands. Policy makers shouldn’t pre-ordain the direction of industry progress.
Green with Envy
Efficiency products will proliferate, for better or worse.
Recently an acquaintance of mine, who shall remain nameless, gave a diamond engagement ring to his girlfriend. She joyfully accepted the ring. But soon her joy turned to disgust when she learned that her lovely “diamond” actually was a cubic zirconium. Last I heard, she’d broken off the engagement and was dating her ex-fiancé’s former boss.
Federalizing the Grid
Renewable mandates will shift power to FERC but pose problems for RTOs.
A recent survey conducted by the U.S Office of Personnel Management and reported by the Washington Post on March 13 ranked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as eighth best of some 37 federal agencies in terms “talent,” and third in “leadership and knowledge.”
Saving Depreciation Accounting
Avoiding ‘earnings management’ requires transparency in reporting standards.
The SEC is taking steps toward substituting International Financial Reporting Standards for U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Having certainty surrounding existing utility asset and depreciation accounting practices enhances the ability to use financial statements to accurately depict the results of operations and financial status of reporting entities.
Making Efficiency Cool
A new business plan for capturing big saving.
Historically, conservation has suffered from a fundamental challenge: it’s boring. But as efficiency becomes the first fuel, providers of efficiency services will begin to look more like businesses and less like government agencies—characterized by dynamic branding, with marketing strategies driven by customer science.
People (April 2009)
DPL Inc. promoted Daniel McCabe to chief administrative officer and senior v.p., from senior v.p. Ameren Corp. announced that Thomas R. Voss will succeed Gary L. Rainwater as president and CEO effective May 1, with Rainwater remaining in the role of executive chairman. Pepco Holdings Inc. (PHI) announced that Joseph M. Rigby is president and CEO. And others...
Transactions
(April 2009)