Distribution

Mitigating Volatility Or Inviting Market Power?

FERC lowers the bar for obtaining market- based rates for natural-gas storage.

The first regulatory changes following the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT) are starting to pick up steam—and encountering multi-faceted criticism—as the gas industry reacts.

Watching and Waiting: A Blueprint for Transformer Maintenance

How online monitoring can prevent costly failures.

The march of technology, the urgent call for greater grid investment, and a painful recent past have caught up with the utilities industry. One key area of preventative maintenance for utilities is the transformer, many of which are decades old. Representing approximately $200 billion in investment, these units—which currently number approximately 100,000—can’t be replaced overnight.

A Consumer Advocate's View: Decoupling and Energy Efficiency

Two sides of the same coin.

When I became the Consumers’ Counsel for the state of Ohio in April 2004, natural-gas prices were hovering between $7/Mcf and $8/Mcf (thousand cubic feet). In the next year and a half, Ohioans saw gas prices double, peaking at a residential statewide average of $16.89/Mcf in the month of September 2005. The latter reflects the exacerbation of prices, already high, by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the gulf region. The purpose of this article is not to focus on the national security and energy independence issues that arise from these circumstances, but rather to examine what we can do in the United States to ensure affordable and reliable supplies for residential consumers in both the short and long term.

Cutting Costs With Real-Time Mobile Data

All systems are Reddy.

Miscellaneous distribution operations expenses totaled $878 million in 2004— the largest single element of the distribution operations expenditures. Greater integration of real-time data can bring such costs under control.

Automatic Meter Reading: Debunking the Myths

Advanced Meter Reading

Advanced Meter Reading

An executive speaks out.

I think, frankly, that it's those marketing folks who conjure up all the myths about advanced meter reading. Rather than sheepishly admitting that their product is deficient in multiple areas, corporate spinmeisters spin webs of words and images into difficult-to-understand concepts, hoping upon hope they can fool us. They bank on the old adage: tell a lie enough and soon people will begin to believe it.

People

<font color="red">New Opportunities:</font>

People

Distributed Generation: Who Benefits?

<font color="red">Distributed Generation</font>

Distributed Generation

In the first of three articles, experts at Oak Ridge National Laboratory examine the technical obstacles, deployment, and economic issues surrounding distributed generation.

The existing electric power delivery system is a critical part of this country's economic and societal infrastructure, and proposals to increase the role of distributed energy resources (DER) within this system are welcomed by few in the utility industry.

People (December 2004)

Lawrence E. De Simone joined Northeast Utilities as president of subsidiary Northeast Utilities Enterprises Inc. Kent McCargar, vice president and CFO at DTE Energy Services, was named president of the company. Gary Stephenson has joined DPL Inc. as vice president, commercial operations. And others...

Technology Corridor

Cyber and Physical Security:

Technology Corridor

Cyber and Physical Security:

Although NERC and other agencies are helping out, utilities still face internal obstacles.