Most Influential Since 1990
Lions and luminaries who led the changes in utilities.
Those ten individuals who had the greatest hand in molding the electric utility industry of 2016.
Wellinghoff
Response to Brown Re: Net Metering
A response to the letter to the editor by Ashley Brown in our February 2016 issue.
Is rooftop solar more like an independent power producer, subject to societal regulation and policy, such as wholesale-level regulation or retail-level resource planning? Or is the electricity that is produced a private consumer good, immune from regulation, policy, and planning?
A Rose By Any Other Name: Response to 'Solar Battle Lines'
Vitriol is to exploit the public’s inclination to favor solar to make utilities pay an exorbitant political price to have policy decided on the merits.
If a solar panel owner can sell at bundled retail rate, while generators are paid LMP, this is discriminatory pricing.
Response to Cicchetti/Wellinghoff Re: Net Metering
Letters to the Editor: A response to the article by Charles Cicchetti and Jon Wellinghoff in our December 2015 issue
A major mistake is the claim, under net metering, customers who generate power with rooftop solar simply “bank” or “park” their extra electricity with their utility, retaining ownership rights.
The Rise and Fall of Big Transmission
The alternatives may make more sense.
After 10 years of dramatic announcements and proposals, the reality today is that Big Transmission has fallen and it won't be getting up - not even for the Clean Power Plan. And the fall of Big Transmission is not a public policy failure. Rather, it never did make sense.
Distribution Optimization: Ready for Takeoff
Part 2: Key choices on the way forward.
Integrated Distribution Planning (IDP) – much like its bulk power system cousin, Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) – provides a useful starting point for regulators and utilities to begin thinking about how to optimize the distribution system.
Distribution Optimization: Ready for Takeoff
Part 1: How markets today are out of sync.
The time has come to consider options for optimizing distributed energy resources, with the intent of supporting a least-cost, reliable, and clean system that delivers more choice and control for customers.
Security and the States
The regulator’s role in promoting cybersecurity for the smart grid.
State commissions can select from a toolkit of regulatory approaches to promote desired utility cybersecurity behavior. One approach is to allow the industry to selfregulate, and another approach is to leave the job to the federal government. But sofar, neither the industry nor the federal government have developed and implemented adequate standards for securing the smart grid. States can play a constructive role—albeit perhaps not in the form of traditional regulation.