Commentary

  Under its Resource Adequacy (RA) program, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) requires load-serving entities—both independently owned utilities and electric service providers—to demonstrate in both monthly and annual filings that they have purchased capacity commitments of no less than 115% of their peak loads. These purchase requirements are intended to secure sufficient commitments from […]

    Winston Churchill once said, "Democracy is the worst form of government—except for all the others." The same could be said for competition policy in wholesale power markets. Competition policy has its flaws. It is not perfect, but it is better than the alternatives. One alternative is to rely completely on vertical integration and […]

Not long ago, most utility investors considered California’s electricity policies too iconoclastic to support. Driven by far-left environmentalists and overzealous regulators, those policies have made it nearly impossible to build new power plants in the state, despite the urgent need for them. Now, however, with growing proof that global warming is real and with Americans […]

We are witnessing an international awakening of scientists who are speaking out in opposition to former Vice President Al Gore, the United Nations, and the media-driven "consensus" on man-made global warming. In May, I released a report detailing scientists who were former believers in catastrophic man-made climate change but who have recently reversed themselves and […]

  The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) recently issued major rules that address for the third time "discrimination" issues remaining after FERC’s 1996 landmark Order 888, which ushered in mandatory open access to transmission. The order was intended to give all power sellers equal access to power lines and thus increase wholesale price competition. Earlier […]

When tackling a problem, engineers bring both skepticism and optimism to the task. As the nation’s electric power engineers look to fill America’s looming capacity gap, they will need to apply healthy doses of both. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects a 50% increase in electricity demand over the next 25 […]

  As the possibility of national climate change legislation increases on Capitol Hill and captures the attention of the electric power community, I am concerned that regulators, legislators, and utility executives will forget the urgency of modernizing the U.S. electricity delivery infrastructure. On the surface, the issues of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and upgrading and […]

During the past year, the debate over the structure of the nation’s electricity systems has continued at a steady clip. It seems that almost every month a new study or report is issued that proclaims the advantages or disadvantages of one market structure over another. Although a report or study may have value, the Community […]

As David Wojick explains in his article, "Mapping technology chaos," on page 36, power engineers are under the gun to innovate. The president and Congress are calling for dramatic new advances in power technology. They are even considering legislating progress in areas such as efficiency and emissions control. Turning data into information Power engineers know […]

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Order No. 689, issued on Nov. 16, 2006, established requirements and procedures for granting permits to build transmission facilities within "national interest electric transmission corridors" designated by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). After summarizing the statutory and regulatory background, this opinion piece addresses jurisdictional conflict between FERC and states, […]