Infrastructure

Pipelines: Are Regulators in for the Long Haul?

An economic perspective on long-term contracting for gas pipeline service.

Natural-gas pipelines are among the biggest supporters of long-term contracting for services, as they try to make life easier for themselves. But the time has come to re-examine the pros and cons of such contracts.

Spot-Market Clearing

Solving the electricity credit malaise.

A monthly billing cycle results in exposures of up to 60 days’ settlement. Participant default is likely, and the potential loss from such an event is significant. Spot-market clearing can solve these problems.

People

FERC Chairman Pat Wood III said he would leave the commission at the conclusion of his term of office June 30. Wood is the longest-serving appointee of George W. Bush, who as governor of Texas in 1995 appointed him to the Texas PUC. And others...

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.

Betting on Broadband

Are consumer broadband over powerline (BPL) services enough to make the business case for utilities?

After years of development, technology to deliver high-speed data over the existing electric power delivery network has emerged in the marketplace. In some sections of Cincinnati and Manassas, Va., consumers now have an alternative to DSL and cable for broadband Internet access. It's real and it works.

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.

Utility M&A: Buying Time

Buying Time

Buying Time

Slowly and cautiously, utilities are moving back into growth mode.

The air is buzzing with talk of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). It can be heard in the boardroom and on the trading floor. Bankers hear it, and they see their deal backlog beginning to grow. Fund managers hear it, as they hunt for the best buys in the market before strategic investors snatch them up. Financial advisers and lawyers hear it, too; their phones are ringing more than they have in years.

The Devil in the Transmission Data

Untapped T&D measurement data could make the difference on reliability.

As transmission operators are forced to deal with increasingly less comfortable margins of reliability, choices must be made about acceptable levels of risk. Essential to such determinations is the analysis of untapped operational and non-operational data.

Transmission Investment: All Talk and Little Action

Except for local reinforcements and new generation interconnections, few transmission construction proposals are moving forward.

Just how much money should be spent on transmission infrastructure in the coming years? The answer depends on which study you read, but despite discrepancies, several threads among the current studies can be ascertained.

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.