Responding to Prof. Hogan
APPA questions the benefits attributed to organized power markets.
Unless the regulatory paradigm fairly balances the interests of both load and generation, the utility industry will be condemned to continued upheaval.
Law & Lawyers
Transactions (February 2013)
NRG completes Gen-On acquisition; Dominion invests in midstream gas development; NextEra buys Cimarron I PV plant; People's Natural Gas acquires Equitable Gas; plus other other M&A and bond deals, together totaling $6.7 billion.
IT-OT Convergence
Breaking down silos to achieve a more enabled workforce and more informed stakeholders.
Operations are finally getting together with IT. As a result, utilities will be able to achieve a range of business goals&emdash;and serve customers better.
Busting the Transmission Trusts
Creative destruction is coming, and it can’t be stopped.
With Order 1000, FERC shows it’s willing to blow up uncompetitive structures, as with trustbusting under Teddy Roosevelt, and the more recent Bell breakup.
NERC on a Wire
The reliability organization struggles with reforms, as FERC hovers.
NERC’s reliability oversight is bogged down on two fronts—standard-setting and compliance oversight. Progress depends on improving unwieldy process.
Preventing Tomorrow's Blackouts
Why transmission planners and protection engineers need to work more closely together.
Recent outages show the importance of proper transmission system design. As the grid becomes more complex, reliability requires tighter coordination.
Siting for Success
Using a trial-based approach to improve a project’s chances before state siting boards.
Project development isn’t getting any easier. Using a trial-based approach can improve a project’s chances before state siting boards. And time-tested principles of planning, discovery, and argument lay the groundwork for an effective appeal.
First Refusers
Order 1000, the RTOs, and the power of incumbency.
In Order 1000, FERC wanted—among other things—to open grid development to private developers. But FERC’s natural allies—the regional transmission organizations—are refusing to go along with this new vision.
Digest
(February 2013) LA and Burbank enter 250 MW PPA with Sempra’s Copper Mountain Solar 3 project; ABB wins $225 million turnkey PV project contracts; NextEra acquires 165-MW Cimarron I wind project; PG&E builds gas pipeline control center; ITC energizes 227-mile transmission line in Midwest; plus contracts and announcements from Survalent, Landis+Gyr, Dell, DNV, Sensus, Itron, Elster, Ameresco, Constellation, Duke, People’s Natural Gas, and others.
Franchise Fracas
Will Boulder be the last city to go muni? Don’t bet on it.
When the goals of a utility and its host community aren’t in sync, breakups happen.