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Law & Lawyers

Toward a 21st Century Grid

Producing value with advanced distribution management systems.

Changing demands from regulators, customers, and shareholders are driving utilities toward better operational technologies to manage an increasingly complex grid. Advanced distribution management systems (ADMS) promise nearly real-time operational insight for maintaining reliability, safety, and security.
Byline: 

Nicholas Abi-Samra, et al.

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Digest

ISO New England approves Northern Pass transmission project; Southern California Edison selects Quanta PAR to build Tehachapi transmission line segments; Pennsylvania PUC approves PPL $335 million grid project; Southern Company completes smart grid investments; U.S. Army Reserve contracts ConEdison Solutions for efficiency and maintenance support services; plus announcements and contracts involving Honeywell, Stor Generation, Salt River Project, Landis+Gyr, Abengoa, Constellation, and others.
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Don't Get Netflixed

The tide is turning. Are we planning for it – or hoping to stop it?

The central station system is the most cost-effective way to provide utility service, but that's beside the point. Customers don't care about 'utility service.'
Byline: 

Michael T. Burr, Editor-in-Chief

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People (March 2014)

Dominion promotes seven to v.p.; DTE Energy Foundation names Faye Alexander Nelson president; Michael Picker becomes CPUC commissioner; plus executive appointments and announcements from PPL, Ameren, Duke, GridWise Alliance, and others.

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Life in the Transco Age

The competitive transmission genie is out of the bottle.

FERC Orders 890 and 1000 have opened the doors to independent transcos, heralding an era of innovation to solve reliability and capacity problems.
Byline: 

Elliot Roseman, Ken Collison, and Kiran Kumaraswamy

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Transactions (March 2014)

SCE&G acquires larger share of VC Summer nuclear project; APS buys SCE's share of Four Corners power plant; Allete (Minnesota Power) acquires from AES 231 MW of wind farms in four states; EdF acquires 194-MW Texas wind project; NRG issues $1.1 billion in bonds; ComEd floats $650 million in two tranches; plus transactions involving TransCanada, Alterra, PSEG, and others totaling $3.4 billion.

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Invoice Enclosed

Having lost Entergy to MISO, the Southwest Power Pool seeks its pound of flesh.

Welcome to the age of RTO competition: region vs. region, grid vs. grid. It could well outdo the choice wars between retail energy suppliers that we thought were in our future.
Byline: 

Bruce W. Radford

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Reinventing the Grid

How to find a future that works.

The traditional central-station grid is evolving toward a more distributed architecture, accommodating a variety of resources spread out across the network. An open and thoughtful planning approach will allow an orderly transition to an integrated system – while fostering innovation among a wider range of industry players.
Byline: 

Michael T. Burr

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Results-Based Regulation

A more dynamic approach to grid modernization.

The utility’s role is changing, and regulation must change along with it – to spur innovation and respond to evolving customer needs. Modernizing the industry will require a dynamic approach.
Byline: 

David Malkin and Paul A. Centolella

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Community Renaissance

When one age ends, another begins.

Community microgrids raise questions about the role of the utility franchise, versus the free market.
Byline: 

Michael T. Burr, Editor-in-Chief

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