DOE

Gas Supply: Too little, Too late?

Pipeline and LNG terminal developments may arrive too late to prevent a natural gas disaster.

Alaska’s North Slope gas remains in the pipeline, so to speak, despite the efforts of industry heavyweights to bring the stranded resource to the lower-48 states. Meanwhile, LNG development is beset by questions of safety, siting, and permitting, leaving North America with high gas prices and little clarity about future supply.

Northwest Passage: BPA's Changing Role

The treacherous journey toward a more efficient and transparent Northwest power market may be nearing its conclusion.

The treacherous journey toward a more efficient and transparent Northwest power market may be nearing its conclusion, as increased funding, more generating capacity, and a burgeoning RTO paint a brighter picture for Bonneville Power Administration.

Preparing for a Nuclear Exchange

Three ways to value nuclear power plants for buyers and sellers.

Appraisers don’t make the market — they reflect it — using three approaches to help buyers and sellers of nuclear assets determine plant value.

Business & Money: Bringing Back The Greenbacks

A spate of proposed U.S. tax rule changes soon may open a window of opportunity for certain utilities.

The proposed Homeland Investment Act on Repatriation may soon open a window of opportunity for U.S. companies with unrepatriated foreign earnings. If passed, it potentially would allow U.S. utilities to bring money back into the country without harsh tax penalties, thereby freeing up capital to reinvest in assets here, pay down U.S. debt, or fund other liabilities.

Cross-Sound Blues

Legal challenges continue for the undersea transmission line.

When the Connecticut Siting Council granted a certificate of environmental compatibility and public need approving the Cross-Sound cable in January 2002, it determined that the project would provide a public benefit and would not have an environmental impact constituting “sufficient reason to deny the application.” At the time of this writing, it is in operation pursuant to federal order, while opponents continue to try to shut down the cable. What happened in 2003 to delay the project, and how might the ongoing struggle affect similar projects proposed or under way?

Generation Roundtable: Power Flux

Generators struggle to plan for the future as they cope with an unstable present.

In a roundtable discussion, generation experts explain how environmental regulations, industry restructuring, investor confidence, and the bottom line are affecting their decision-making.

Blackouts? never Again! (But...)

We ask merchant grid developers if anything can ever be done.

How will technicians prevent another major blackout? Fortnightly weaves the opinions of industry insiders on the keys to electric reliability with a cautionary tale from Connecticut to present solutions for what’s ailing the grid.

People

People for October 1, 2003.

New positions at the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, Cleco, Avista, and others.