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Law & Lawyers

Recharging Employees

How to make sustainable performance improvements at any utility.

Sustained performance improvement is often a difficult objective to achieve in a large company. Many such attempts involve various cross-functional initiatives that leave companies with unfinished projects, lower morale and disappointing results. Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) has found that the key to sustained performance improvement is the establishment of a cadre of high-potential managers to address company-wide initiatives full-time.

Byline: 

Cheryl Hyman et al.

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FIT in the USA

Constitutional questions about state-mandated renewable tariffs.

Despite state efforts to follow the European model of state-mandated feed-in tariffs to promote renewable power, these actions won’t pass Constitutional muster. The Supremacy Clause makes a formidable legal barrier.

Byline: 

Steven Ferrey et al.

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The Body Electric

The smart grid and its biomorphic destiny.

Smart grid technology is bringing inanimate objects to life. In connecting nodes and equipping the system with distributed intelligence, the network is developing toward an environment that becomes quasi-biological over time. Such an organic system might defy deterministic ideas of planning and control.

Byline: 

Clement Chen

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Vendor Neutral

Kiewit chooses Alstom equipment for Dominion and Northland Power plants; Abengoa Solar reaches 143 MW with thermal plant startup; S&C Electric to engineer Tessera Solar project; Canada and Hitachi cooperate on carbon sequestration; Black & Veatch to manage PSE&G smart-grid project; AEP selects OPower for customer engagement; SRP picks Elster for AMI rollout; Oncor installs millionth smart meter; plus contract and technology announcements from ABB, Arcadian Networks, Beacon Power, Catalyst Renewables, eMeter, Itron, Open Systems International, Siemens, SunEdison, Tesla Motors and

Byline: 
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Got Prepaid?

Smart meters open the door to advance billing.

Investor-owned utility executives have long understood the benefits of prepaid metering, but technical and regulatory roadblocks have prevented wide-scale implementation. Now, however, two IOUs—Arizona Public Service and DTE—are planning prepaid metering programs that could be offered to all customers. Smart metering technology might pave the way for prepaid to become a standard service.

Byline: 

Scott M. Gawlicki

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Penalty Predictability

Bringing fairness to FERC enforcement.

FERC’s proposed penalty guidelines provide the opportunity for improved regulation. More practical and consistent characteristics for determining penalty fine ranges will increase penalty predictability for industry violations of federal regulations—and will make FERC’s enforcement more fair and transparent.

Byline: 

J. Michel Marcoux

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PURPA's Changing Climate

California defends its cogen feed-in tariff—complete with its own virtual carbon tax.

California’s new feed-in tariff (FIT) is creating a burgeoning market for green energy investments, but the policy has sparked a fierce battle over state authority to dictate wholesale power transactions. A federal case will determine whether the 1978 Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act pre-empts states from requiring purchases that exceed utilities’ avoided cost.

Byline: 

Bruce W. Radford

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Solar Tech Outlook

Manufacturers scale up for utility applications.

Photovoltaics technology is emerging as a generation alternative—both for centralized and distributed facilities. Solar industry executives say their companies are overcoming obstacles to large-scale implementation. With advances in design and manufacturing, the future looks bright for utility-scale solar power.

Byline: 

Lori A. Burkhart

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Getting Engaged

How to avoid a Texas-style backlash.

Is customer engagement more about damage control, or helping customers understand their options?

Byline: 

Michael T. Burr, Editor-in-Chief

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Nuclear YIMBY

Local communities welcome new reactor projects.

Visitors to Waynesboro in northeast Georgia might be surprised at local residents’ opinions about two new nuclear energy plants planned for that site; namely, they’re giving the reactors a warm welcome.

Byline: 

Ann Stouffer Bisconti

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