Commentary

As our January 2017 cover image of a dynamic Rubik’s Cube suggests, the power industry, especially in the U.S., is dealing with something akin to solving a 3-D puzzle whose pieces are being added and subtracted as the game is being played. Although shares of traditional, regulated electric utilities remain some of the most predictable […]

Public utility commissioners matter. A lot. Now more than ever, these state regulators are charged with looking out for the best interests of utility customers in states that have regulated electric and other utilities. As we’ve seen from countless recent news stories, public utility commissions (PUCs) play a significant role in determining what power system […]

God forbid that you have a job that requires you to read the orders issued by public utility commissions (PUCs). As a regulator, I not only have to read them—I have to write them. And even I marvel at the arcane, trial-like proceedings of PUCs and the orders that emerge from them, which are the […]

The first week of October was noteworthy for the volume of potentially life-changing and industry-changing carbon and climate change–related news. While the U.S. power industry awaited a decision from the

Bark beetles have discovered the good life in California’s overgrown forests. A combination of extended drought and mild winters has led to an enormous infestation of these pests. They have killed over 66

For all the words published over the past several years about electric utility customer defection—thanks to the combination of lower-cost residential solar photovoltaic systems, tax incentives, and net

Look to the East and you’ll see a major initiative to transform New York’s electric grid into a cleaner, more efficient system. Look to the West and you’ll find ambitious clean energy legislation in California. Yet utility executives and federal regulators recently gathered in the Midwest to highlight how this region is ground zero for […]

As the U.S. enters the final stretch of what seems like an interminable presidential campaign, I’ve been thinking about the motto “ e pluribus unum” (out of many, one). That motto also applies to the power industry. The U.S. is composed of many states, individuals with family origins in virtually every part of the world, […]

I’ve developed something of a love/hate relationship with awards. Initially, it’s exciting to spot outstanding or unusual projects for our POWER awards, but over time, any number of things can happen to those plants, making them appear less than stellar. Sometimes it’s changing policy or market conditions that make a record-setting plant completely uneconomic (see […]

As the effects of climate change have increased and renewable energy is becoming cost-competitive with conventional forms of energy generation, more and more towns, cities, and counties are pushing their local utilities to increase the amount of renewables in their energy portfolios. While many utilities are embracing this shift to renewable energy, others are slow […]

Readers of a certain age will recall a scene in the movie Jaws when the local police chief, having glimpsed the gigantic shark up close from the back of the deck, reels back into the cockpit to observe: “You’re going to need a bigger boat.” In climate change, we have reached the “bigger boat” moment. […]

Discussions about environmental issues related to power plants and the regulations governing their operation are as old as the industry, I discovered while thumbing through the bound July through December 1914 issues of POWER. The specifics of the environmental concerns have become more detailed and complex as scientific knowledge, monitoring technologies, and mitigation solutions advance. […]

For most of the history of the power industry, utility jobs were secure and long-tenured. Though they continue to offer greater stability than many other comparably paid jobs, forces on both sides of the

“Why are you picking on the Clean Air Act?” That’s a question we’ve heard more than once while traveling the country to talk about our new book, Struggling for Air: Power Plants and the “War on

After a very busy March, I just wanted to run a collage of puppy photos in this editorial. After all, baby animals are proven to generate engagement on social media, so why not in print? Then I saw a Twitter

Today’s energy system is ripe for disruption. Whoever designs the next generation of energy systems will own the platforms that will enable tomorrow’s products and lock in the emerging consumer base from the developing world. This disruption will be as great as the shift from whale oil to rock oil, altering the energy landscape permanently. […]

In April’s editorial, “When Technology Tails Wag Power Dogs,” Editor Gail Reitenbach mused about whether the use of captured carbon dioxide (CO2) for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) represents a viable way forward for carbon capture, use, and sequestration (CCUS). This is a subject both of us have covered in various ways over the past few […]

When you hear “drone,” do you think, toy, military craft, dangerous device, or useful tool? Depending on the type of unmanned aircraft system (aka, drone) we’re talking about, any of those descriptors

Among the greatest revolutions of the modern world is one that most of us take for granted: electrification. When we flip on the light switch, turn on the TV, or plug in our cell phones, power is there, 99.99%

You’ve heard that Nothing in life is free , yet this magazine is free for the vast majority of readers—both in print and online. That’s only because of the continued support of our advertisers. No media

Fusion provides the energy of the sun and all stars, but harnessing fusion for civilian electric power has proven exceptionally difficult. For over 50 years the U.S. government has pursued

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the final version of the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan (CPP) on Oct. 23, 2015, and within hours more than two dozen challenges were filed

Millennials have landed in the workforce. This is the generation that marketing and lifestyle gurus have been attempting to dissect, and now senior executives are starting to internalize what all the fuss was about—Millennials are a little different. At Student Energy, we’re working with university students to create the next generation of energy leaders. We […]

January has traditionally been POWER’ s forecast issue, and there’s one overriding prediction I feel confident making: The speed of changes will continue to exceed the power industry’s ability to fully

The world has a problem. According to the World Bank, 1.1 billion people lack access to any form of modern energy service, and more than double that number lack access to adequate, reliable, affordable, and

The challenge of getting a new generation of workers interested in the power sector is one I hear about frequently. Too many young adults are more fascinated by the tech sector, plant folks say. That may be

See if you can fill in the blanks: “A debate has been created after a paper was published in the BLANK Journal, suggesting the new BLANK Guidelines… are biased and based on an incomplete survey of current studies.” That quote from Digital Journal, referring to the British Medical Journal and the U.S. Dietary Guidelines, could […]

Just as we were drafting this commentary, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a new ground-level ozone rule, tightening the standard from 75 to 70 ppb. The projected human health and environmental benefits are substantial. Yet there has been significant concern about tightening the ozone standards because of compliance cost. As it happens, our […]

When I started working in the energy industry in 1999, I had a conversation one day with Adam, a researcher who was writing a report for utilities that were marketing “green energy” programs. At the time, customers’ ability to purchase solar- or wind-generated electrons was limited to fewer utilities, and those companies were looking for […]

On August 3, 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a much-anticipated suite of regulations, featuring the final Clean Power Plan’s guidelines for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from existing power plants under Clean Air Act section 111(d). This package has sparked great interest, and early reactions run the gamut from enthusiastic support to entrenched opposition. […]