Insights from our Editorial Team
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Aug 21, 2006 |Customers are touchy about energy prices. But controlling their utility bills may be right at their fingertips. Indeed, the summer heat may have sparked a renewed effort to set off time-of-use pricing that gives consumers a truer sense of what electricity costs during various points in the day.
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Aug 18, 2006 |Utilities have yet to untangle themselves from the web of wires that connect their infrastructure. But they are gradually becoming more progressive when it comes to going wireless. Indeed, through so-called Wi-Fi networks, power companies can efficiently and cost-effectively read meters and communicate with customers.
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Aug 16, 2006 |A black cloud still hangs over corporate America. More than 80 companies that grant stock options are now under federal investigation because they might have improperly accounted for such options to financially benefit top executives.
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Aug 14, 2006 |The recent drop in shareholder lawsuits is welcome news for corporate America and especially utilities that have paid dearly for such litigation. But, the lull may be the calm before the next storm.
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Aug 11, 2006 |The 2003 Blackout that covered much of the Northeast and parts of Canada is on the minds of consumers and regulators alike. The event has served as a catalyst to usher in some modern technologies that increase the performance of the electric grid.
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Aug 09, 2006 |Political turmoil along with exhaustive heat and environmental pressures are forcing utilities, businesses and individuals to curtail their energy usage. Amidst a war in the Middle East, $75 a barrel oil prices and the potential fear over global warming, environmental activism is now at the height of its long march.
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Aug 07, 2006 |One answer to providing sustainable energy may be at our fingertips, or more precisely, about 10 feet underground. Just below the earth's surface, the temperature ranges from 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit -- a form of energy that can be tapped using geothermal heat pumps. Such devices use less energy than conventional heating and air conditioning, which saves money and cuts the level of harmful emissions.
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Aug 04, 2006 |Calpine Corp. has a hit a rough patch. But the unregulated power generator now in bankruptcy says that better times lie ahead. While revenues dropped 33.7 percent and losses mounted, the San Jose-based company says that its cost-cutting measures in combination with an expanding economy will enable it to remain in operations.
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Aug 02, 2006 |The Bonneville Power Administration is tightening its belt and working with its utility customers to provide efficiencies and incentives for new infrastructure. The federal utility will reduce its rates by about three percent from October 2007 through September 2009.
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Jul 31, 2006 |While the Enron trial may be over, the energy crisis that it helped foster continues to play out. Two natural gas traders now stand trial for allegedly manipulating pricing data in an effort to drive up profits for their companies and increase earnings for themselves.
