Byline:
Michael T. Burr, Editor-in-Chief
PUCs are concerned that a rapid shutdown of coal-fired plants will start a full-tilt dash to gas—similar to the one that caused bankruptcies among independent power producers in the late 1990s and early 2000s. But this time around, ratepayers and not IPP investors will be stuck with the risk, if utilities rush to add all that new gas-fired capacity to rate base.
Author Bio:
Michael T. Burr is Fortnightly’s editor-in-chief. Email him at burr@pur.com
Portfolio planning in the age of gas.
Calpine signs PPA with Public Service Company of Oklahoma; TransCanada and Ontario PowerAuthority agree to develop 900-MW gas-fired power plant; Panda selects Siemens to build combined-cycle plant; Progress Energy retires coal plants dating from 1923; Southern Company and Turner acquire 30-MW PV project; PSO begins smart meter pilot rollout; Southern California Edison contracts with Corix to install smart meters; Iberdrola USA hires Burns and McDonnell to review grid infrastructure. Plus contracts and announcements from Itron, eMeter, Echelon, Quanta Services, DNV, Metadigm, Landis+Gyr, and others.
Byline:
David Hoppock and Sarah Adair
Ongoing litigation over EPA rules raises compliance risks and costs. North Carolina utilities, however, benefited from the state’s forward thinking.
Author Bio:
David Hoppock (david.hoppock@duke.edu) is a research analyst and Sarah Adair (sarah.adair@duke.edu) is an associate in research at Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions in Durham, N.C.
Retrofitting early protected North Carolina ratepayers.
High prices have turned Michigan against regional planning -- a possible foretaste of what to expect under FERC Order 1000.
Author Bio:
Bruce W. Radford is publisher of Public Utilities Fortnightly.
Michigan chafes over regional grid planning, providing a policy lesson for the feds.
Utilities in the Midwest ISO want greater access to sell into PJM’s lucrative market. But that might require a virtual merger of the two RTOs — a move rejected seven years ago as too costly, and perhaps still impractical today.
Author Bio:
Bruce W. Radford is publisher of Public Utilities Fortnightly.
PJM and MISO ran from the altar once before. Now there’s talk of a shotgun wedding.
Xcel Energy’s Teresa Mogensen discusses public-private collaboration
Michael T. Burr
One of the most ambitious transmission projects in America today is CAPX2020. In this second of two exclusive interviews, Fortnightly's Spark talks with Teresa Mogensen, Xcel Energy’s vice president of transmission, about how the investor-owned utility collaborated with public-power utilities to develop a complex set of lines and a solid investment for shareholders.
Great River Energy’s Will Kaul discusses collaborative development
Michael T. Burr
One of the most ambitious transmission projects in America today is CAPX2020, a series of lines in Minnesota and surrounding states. In this first of two exclusive interviews, Fortnightly's Spark talks with Will Kaul, Great River Energy’s v.p. of transmission, about how the project managed to succeed where others have failed.
Did FERC Jump the Gun?
Bruce W. Radford, Public Utilities Fortnightly
In an October order, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) trimmed the authorized rate incentive for the RITELine transmission project by one-third. The action prompted Commissioner Moeller to ask whether the commission is retreating from its incentive policy on needed transmission lines.
