Future Shocked
New uses for electricity doubtless on the horizon albeit unpredictable
One vision of future power: By 2040, most households had at least one Powered Immersion room, some two or three.
Law & Lawyers
Response to Mitnick Re: What Consumers Want
A response to the Editor-in-Chief column by Steve Mitnick in our May 2016 issue
Unless and until we have access to economic bulk storage, substitution of carbon-free sources for fossil fuels will increase cost significantly. The cost must be borne by some combination of taxpayers and ratepayers.
Energy People: Jim Rogers
We talked with Jim Rogers, former CEO of Duke Energy.
Duke is now made up of five companies that existed in 1992. There are three difficult tasks in doing a successful combination. One is to negotiate it. The second, maybe the most difficult task, is actually getting the approval at both the state and federal levels. And lastly, the really hard work of combining the companies. It’s getting the cost savings as well as the revenue enhancements associated with the transaction. It is keeping the most talented people.
Energy Dept.'s Evolving Outlook for US Power Sector
Looking Back on Accuracy of Past Forecasts
Coal share with the Clean Power Plan could drop to below 20 percent.
Energy People: Stan Garnett
We talked with Stan Garnett, former senior exec of two utilities, the day after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union.
The Brexit vote neatly frames a rather historic episode in the utility industry worldwide.
Electric Comedians
Garrison Keillor, Meat Loaf, Bob and Ray, Jiminy Cricket, etc.
"I am an expert of electricity. My father occupied the chair of applied electricity at the state prison." -W.C. Fields
"We believe that electricity exists because the electric company keeps sending us bills for it. But we cannot figure out how it travels inside wires." -Dave Barry
"In the early 1980s, I got into a war with my management. They just kept on suing me and I lost everything. So I had to go out on tour to make sure the electricity stayed on." -Meat Loaf, musician
Electricity Market Reform in Japan
Bumpy Road Ahead
This is the first in a series of three articles related to power market reform in Japan and its implications both for Japan and globally.
Helter Skelter
Closure of a Perfectly Decent Nuclear Power Plant
Prematurely closing a nuclear plant because of the inflexibility of solar and wind generation is like going after a fly with a sledgehammer.
Legacy and Generations
We’ll Soon Hand You the Baton
The pasts and futures of automobiles and electricity are remarkably similar. They first inspired a generation. That generation’s grandchildren associate these venerable industries with environmental despoilment and technological obsolescence.
Response to Mitnick Re: Costs Fixed Depending on Timeframe
A response to the Editor-in-Chief column by Steve Mitnick in our July 2016 issue
Mitnick’s observation was visionary, that we are heading toward an industry that will become increasingly dominated by fixed costs. Even so, he could have gone one step further.