Hailed a Taxi Lately?
Economic disruption and the future of electric utilities.
Other industries deregulated and it reduced prices and encouraged innovation. What happened to the utility sector?
Law & Lawyers
Cyber Security: Are Four-Letter Words Enough?
As it relates to cyber security, the existing regulatory paradigm falls short and provides inadequate protection to the electric grid.
Given the dynamic nature of cyber threats, we should ask ourselves whether mandatory reliability standards drafted by NERC and approved by FERC can get past the uncertainty created by cumbersome procedures and regulatory delays to provide an effective means of addressing the cyber security threat to the bulk power system. Let’s examine some of the regulatory gaps and risks presented by our current system of NERC and FERC oversight.
Playing Offense with EVs
How much of a $100 billion market in electric vehicles can utilities capture – or afford not to?
Electric transportation can be the utility sector’s growth engine — $100 billion or more per year — if the industry embraces the opportunities ahead.
From Grid to Cloud
A network of networks – in search of an orchestrator.
The Energy Cloud will change the way we generate, store, and consume energy by changing from a one-way power flow to a dynamic network of networks supporting two-way energy and information flows.
How to Jump Start Electric Cars: Charging Companies
Car-charging could and should be an industry separate from traditional utility activities.
When the Wright brothers took to the air, they did not worry that one day new industries would be needed to fulfill the promise of their inventions.
People (November 2015)
Steven D. Davis was elected to succeed Jessie J. Knight, Jr. as executive v.p. of external affairs and corporate strategy for Sempra Energy. Georgia Power named Dr. Mark Berry as v.p. of environmental affairs. FirstEnergy made management changes in customer service and utility operations areas of the company. GE appointed Stephan Reimelt as president and CEO of GE's power conversion business. Atlantic Power named Joseph E. Cofelice as executive v.p. of commercial development. The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) named Bradley C. Jones as president and CEO. Entergy elected Philip L. Frederickson to its board of directors. And others...
Microgrids: Where's the Beef?
Integration beats islanding, anyway you slice it.
A microgrid is a throwback. It’s anathema to what we know about economies of scale. Integration is what maximizes the ability of least-cost resources to reach load. By interfering with least-cost dispatch, microgrids can only raise energy costs.
Growth Through Productivity
Enterprise Management: Taking a wider view of asset management.
Utility executives today see few choices if they wish to achieve growth. Better scheduling can improve overall productivity by 10-15 percent, offering the potential for growth. Yet it is not sufficient simply to focus narrowly on work execution in the field.
Equity Returns: ‘Allowed’ vs. Earned
Understanding how PUC rate case findings differ from a utility’s financial reports.
(November 2015) Setting an allowed return on equity has consistently proven to be the most contentious and subjective part of a rate case proceeding.
2015 Regulators Forum
State Utility Commissioners in Their Own Words
Susan Ackerman, chair, Oregon PUC; Chris Nelson, vice-chairman, South Dakota PUC; Tim G. Echols, Georgia PSC; Paul J. Roberti, Rhode Island PUC