DPL Inc. promoted Daniel McCabe to chief administrative officer and senior v.p., from senior v.p. Ameren Corp. announced that Thomas R. Voss will succeed Gary L. Rainwater as president and CEO effective May 1, with Rainwater remaining in the role of executive chairman. Pepco Holdings Inc. (PHI) announced that Joseph M. Rigby is president and CEO. And others...
State GHG policies confront federal roadblocks.
So far, states have taken the lead in carbon-control strategies. These state actions, however, could lead to constitutional conflicts—as recent court battles demonstrate. Only the U.S. Congress can regulate interstate trade, so states must step carefully in controlling carbon leakage.
Utilities that have new nuclear plants on the drawing board are involved in a host of strategies designed to address water issues. For some, these focus primarily on location. For others, technology is a key.
(September 2008) Shareholder value remains strong as the Big Build begins. Our fourth annual ranking shows healthy growth in earnings and share prices. But as capital spending grows, dividends are shrinking and equity returns are weakening. Regulatory relationships will separate future winners from losers.
The PJM complaint and the rising cost of electric reliability.
Who says ratepayers must accept the traditional measure of electric reliability—a single one-hour outage every ten years? If shown the bill ahead of time, might they decide otherwise; that such luxury is no longer affordable? Consumers are making similar decisions about gasoline and mortgages. Why not electricity?
Northeast Utilities appointed Leon J. Olivier as executive vice president-chief operating officer. Calpine named Todd W. Filsinger interim chief operating officer. PJM Interconnection promoted Andrew Ott to senior vice president-markets. And others...
Volatile markets create investment openings.
(June 2008) As fossil fuel prices continue increasing and alternative energy gathers momentum, the energy and utility industries can expect to see continued interest from private-equity firms. Over the last five years, record levels of private-equity investments have been used to buy power plants, as well as other utility assets and energy product manufacturing facilities. These once-overlooked industries suddenly are hotspots for private-equity investment.
FirstEnergy Corp. named Dennis L. Dabney its vice-president of human resources. Northeast Utilities announced Johnny D. Magwood as its first chief customer officer. AES appointed Ned Hall its executive vice president and president of its wind generation division. Intrepid Technology and Resources named Jack Haffey as its chief executive officer. And others...
Public companies face rising pressure to disclose climate-change risks.
Regulation of greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions and other efforts to control these growing environmental concerns increasingly are impacting businesses, and investors are seeking more and better information on climate-change risks to make informed investment decisions.
Volatile markets are causing delays, but most deals are moving forward.
Although problems in the power business grabbed the headlines early this decade, the industry now seems fundamentally strong. In contrast to their ratings of banks, rating agencies appear to have recently upgraded more of the electric sector than they have downgraded. It remains a strong investment grade, usually BB or BBB. For an index of 68 electric utilities, the debt-to-equity ratio averaged only 55:45 and return on equity exceeded over 13 percent through January.