utilities

Kansas conversations on utilities and efficiency

Check out this article from Energy Central. A workshop in Topeka, Kansas has been trying to figure out how to incentivize Kansas utilities to embrace conservation. The local regulated utility summarizes the problem: “We are totally committed to energy efficiency,” said Chris Giles of Kansas City Power and Light, “as long as we can have […]

Virginia governor falsely claims Obama shares his support for new coal

Virginia governor Tim Kaine (D) held a Northern Virginia town hall meeting in Prince William County in the Washington, D.C. exurbs as part of his campaign for Barack Obama. The subtext of the town hall (one of a series) is that Kaine is trying to prove his value to Obama so he can get the […]

The electric sector’s price inversion

There is a phenomenon known in financial markets as an “inverted yield curve.” Like a stray elephant in Central Park, it is a reliable indicator that something odd is going on. It seldom lasts long, as markets quickly note and adjust to the weirdness. Prices in current electric markets are similarly inverted, especially in the […]

Virginia refuses to compel AEP’s customers to share in new coal plant’s construction costs

From Energy Central comes this gem of double speak from AEP Chairman Michael Morris, who, as the article notes … … has staked AEP’s plans for future generating capacity on Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle or IGCC technology. Morris’ concern is that coal isn’t sufficiently loved. Why? Because regulators need more lobbying education” “Collectively we have […]

AEP demands 45 percent rate increase for Ohio

What happens when your utility is 68 percent dependent on coal? American Electric Power said Thursday it must raise electricity rates 45 percent for its nearly 1.5 million customers in Ohio over the next three years, to cover soaring coal prices and the cost of modernizing its systems to keep them reliable … AEP executives […]

Government-guaranteed, for-profit businesses are inherently risky

Q: What do the banking crisis and the energy crisis have in common? A: They have both been created in no small part by government policies that have expressly incentivized risky behavior. For the banking perspective, pick up any recent issue of The Economist. They have lately been running a series of rather insightful critiques […]

Coal electricity prices: the new gas prices

In the next few years, Americans who have grown accustomed to some of the cheapest power in the world will start to see their rates rise, sharply, mainly because coal is rapidly getting more expensive. Here’s a preview: COLUMBUS, Ohio — American Electric Power said Thursday it must raise electricity rates 45 percent for its […]

Florida utility’s green energy program died a predictable death

The sad fate of Florida Power & Light’s green energy program should be instructive. Of course the program had to spend a ton of money on marketing — it was asking ratepayers for charitable donations to a cause most of them weren’t familiar with and didn’t care much about. Given that most ratepayers weren’t eager […]

Energy efficiency, part 4

California and its utilities have achieved remarkably consistent energy efficiency gains for three decades. How did they do it?

In part, a smart California Energy Commission has promoted strong building standards and the aggressive deployment of energy-efficient technologies and strategies -- and has done so with support of both Democratic and Republican leadership over three decades. I talked to California energy commissioner Art Rosenfeld -- a former DOE colleague and the godfather of energy efficiency -- about what the state does, and here are some interesting details he offered, as discussed in "Why we never need to build another polluting power plant":