Off Peak

November 1, 2001

Nightmare Scenario

 

Professor chokes on green group emissions.

 

An analysis of the business opportunities behind coal and nuclear plant expansion.

Electric power industry trade publications and the popular media have noted a growing interest in the rebirth of both nuclear power and coal-fired generation. These technologies would be a supplement to, or an alternative to, the natural gas fired generation that appears to be the predominant fuel and technology for new power generation facilities in the coming decade.

Natural Gas Hedging: A Primer for Utilities and Regulators

 

What commissions need to learn.
What LDCs should already know.

The facts are now in. If utilities had hedged their natural gas purchases during the 1990s, they could have earned windfalls for those they serve, given the wild price gyrations of the past decade (). Yet few if any households or businesses saw any windfall, because few utilities were engaged in futures and other derivatives markets.

 

High profit potential will attract new power plants, forcing prices down and stranding the state's long-term electricity purchases.

Let's consider three questions crucial to California's energy crisis and its plans for solution.

Fortnightly

News Analysis

 

Electric Shopping Credits: In Search of an Apples- to-Apples Comparison

 

 

How to replace the bundled utility tariff with a rational design for access, throughput, and congestion.