A Pricey Peninsula
Michigan chafes over regional grid planning, providing a policy lesson for the feds.
High prices have turned Michigan against regional planning -- a possible foretaste of what to expect under FERC Order 1000.
Law & Lawyers
Last Call
Utilities are enjoying some of the best financing terms anybody’s ever seen. Is the party winding down?
Conditions are ideal for utility financing—but not forever. Although interest rates remain low, policy changes weigh on capital structures.
Efficiency Beyond the Low Fruit
Continuous improvement requires changing practices and cultural norms.
As efficiency programs mature, utilities and regulators will be challenged to keep producing demand-side resources. A systems-oriented approach can yield cost-effective results.
A Virtuous Cycle
How customer satisfaction drives returns on equity for regulated electric utilities.
Data and experience show that serving customers well translates into better rate case outcomes. Conversely, poor performance starts a downward slide. J.D. Power and Associates research shows the correlation between customer service and financial returns.
Vendor Neutral
Constellation completes 16.1 MW PV project in Maryland; Ikea commissions 31st solar project, reaching 38 MW installed; IPL and MidAmerican install $545 million scrubber in Iowa; DTE partners with Enbridge and Spectra on pipeline for Utica shale gas; plus contracts and announcements from Dominion, Sempra, Southern Company, AEP, EPRI, Itron, Landis+Gyr, Opower and others.
The Old Drawing Board
Portfolio planning in the age of gas.
PUCs are concerned that a rapid shutdown of coal-fired plants will start a full-tilt dash to gas—similar to the one that caused bankruptcies among independent power producers in the late 1990s and early 2000s. But this time around, ratepayers and not IPP investors will be stuck with the risk, if utilities rush to add all that new gas-fired capacity to rate base.
Cleanup Time
Retrofitting early protected North Carolina ratepayers.
Ongoing litigation over EPA rules raises compliance risks and costs. North Carolina utilities, however, benefited from the state’s forward thinking.
Bill Hogan, Unbundled
A candid commentary on current topics in electric restructuring.
A no-holds-barred interview with the electric industry’s chief architect of wholesale electric market design.
People (November 2012)
Westinghouse Electric names former Progress Energy Executive as president and CEO. FirstEnergy makes numerous executive changes and appointments; Pepco hires new general counsel; plus executive appointments and announcements at AEP, PPL, PG&E, ITC Holdings, Dominion, EPRI, SEIA, and others.
Gas Without Regrets
How suppliers and generators can each gain from today’s historic low prices.
Gas-fired generators and suppliers alike can each share risk and reward from historic low prices with contracts that blend market and fixed prices