In This Issue
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Economics and Politics
The future of clean coal has been postponed. Technologies to make the burning of coal cleaner are progressing, but the business case for using these technologies is not keeping pace. Cap and trade policies that were supposed to drive the industry to clean coal have not materialized as imagined. And the explosive shift to natural gas has cut coal-fired electricity generation by about 10 percent... -
FURTHERING ELECTRIC ENHANCEMENTS
Stimulus funds for smart grid projects are coming to a close, and industry experts are questioning whether electric grid enhancements will continue. The answer is a resounding yes. Over the next 10 to 20 years, the electric grid in this country should see a dramatic improvement in efficiency and functionality. Technologies exist to drive those gains and create an electric grid that will be key to... -
WHY THE GRID NEEDS ATTENTION
The U.S. electric power grid, the transmission and distribution systems that deliver power to consumers, is aging and is in urgent need of expansion and upgrading. Even under normal conditions, transmission lines are stressed because they are at full capacity much of the time, which can lead to cascading failures after what should be a minor equipment failure. The grid is vulnerable to... -
ENHANCING THE BOTTOMUtilities are now in a position to take Ben Franklin’s advice and apply it to six-figure and seven-figure devices, such as transformers, capacitors and feeders. The advent of smart grid capabilities as well as advances in computer technology have made it possible for these businesses to gather information about device performance, monitor their needs proactively, prolong their lives and cut...
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An Economist’s View of Smart Grid
Regulators and politicians claim that the smart grid will revolutionize how the industry operates. Utility executives are enthusiastic because it implies more capital in their rate base earning a regulated rate of return. The only skeptical parties are consumers, because they have to pay for it. Unless hourly retail prices pass through the hourly wholesale price, consumers could end up paying... -
CONVERGENCE WITH REAL-TIME COMMUNICATIONS
While the smart grid, cybersecurity and renewable energy sources garner most of the press corps’ attention these days, arguably the biggest challenge transmission and distribution companies face is maintaining the performance of the grid’s most valuable — and aging — assets. Utilities have installed substation transformers, breakers, capacitor banks and the like over several decades. T&... -
RIVER HYDROKINETIC GENERATION
Protecting wildlife habitat and migratory fish has much to do with the amount of interest in rivers as hydrokinetic waterpower resources. The limited power-generating potential and the use of immature technologies might be seen as impediments, yet many companies are showing a desire to at least dip their toes in the river water. The Electric Power Research Institute recently completed a mapping... -
FACING SUMMER
As we approach the summer season, the power industry is keeping an eye on preparations to ensure reliability as worries persist about plant retirements or extended maintenance for units affected by recent regulatory requirements. At MISO, the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator, we have been actively working to address this pressing and complex issue to ensure we continue to reliably... -
THE VIEW FROM MISSOURI
Energy efficiency measures are those measures that reduce the amount of energy needed to achieve a particular result. Energy efficiency is the single most cost-effective resource that provides a means of meeting energy and demand needs while also minimizing the need to build new, expensive generating plants or to retrofit older fossil fuel plants. The benefits of energy efficiency can inure to...
