Vision of Liquefied Natural Gas Hub
Mirage on the Ocean?
Want to ramp up U.S. LNG exports to Europe? Dr. Olive, an expert from NERA, takes us through the limitations and barriers of the European market.
Law & Lawyers
Small Modular Reactors and Path Not Taken
Military Rivalry Fueled Nuclear Program
If we had to choose a new nuclear generating technology today, we would emphasize one that had no potential for catastrophic failure and minimized problems of long term waste storage. Perhaps we should revisit the path not taken: a thorium-fueled nuclear reactor design.
The New Standard Offer
Impact of Robust Customer Engagement
It's not just residential customers. Commercial customers need to be engaged more vigorously and analytically by utilities as competition increases along with customers’ expectations.
Hooking Up
New Entrants, Many Ways to Engage
The ability of new entrants to interconnect new generation on a timely and fair basis is essential during the transition from coal to natural gas and renewables. But how cooperative will incumbents be about it? FERC has always understood that incumbents are incented to frustrate new entry.
Success Strategies in New Japanese Electric Power Market
Part 3 in a Series on Electric Power in Japan
The pace of learning must accelerate so that players in the new Japanese electric power market are prepared to succeed. For retail entrants, the key will be to diversify, in both the retail and wholesale portions of their business.
Benefits Add Up
SW Utilities Show Efficiency Benefits
The southwest region saw more energy saved from utility energy efficiency programs than was generated from solar power, both distributed and utility-scale.
Local Financing Benefits U.S. Utilities
Banks, Utilities Find Natural Fit
Local banks are still an under-utilized resource for electric utilities, despite the role these banks played historically. Regional and local banks are often healthier than big banks, according to the Federal Reserve.
Path Forward for Storage
Managing Aging Nuclear Storage Canisters
The Electric Power Research Institute, EPRI, will publish nuclear aging management and inspection guidance in early 2017. These will address the potential for chloride-induced stress corrosion cracking in welded stainless steel canisters in dry-cask storage systems.
Refocusing Rate Design Debates
Public Interest before Special Interest
We must get back to pricing fundamentals. The goals of performance and or incentive-based regulation apply to consumers and not just producers. Here are three questions that every rate design investigation should consider.
2016 Annual Rate Case Survey
It is often said that ratemaking is as much art as science.
It is the process of setting a return on equity that is fair to both shareholders and consumers that demonstrates the art and science practiced by regulators. One case reported here provides a good glimpse at the entire range of issues put before regulators: a decision by the Michigan Public Service Commission setting electric rates for Consumers Energy Company.