In This Issue
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EXECUTIVES WILL PROBE RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES
AS I PUT TOGETHER the content for Energy-Biz, I am privileged to have access to thoughtful, powerful executives, leading government officials and industry experts. We routinely discuss the most pressing long-term issues facing our energy sector.One overarching theme has emerged from these conversations in recent months, focusing thoughts and concerns that have been bubbling up for years:... -
LAUNCH OF POWER PLANT SITE
GenerationHub, a new, online, interactive intelligence service designed for generation executives and decision- makers, is intended to help with owning, building, operating, planning or regulating power generation.The GenerationHub subscription service offers free hand-picked news content, blogs and a primer along with industry-exclusive intelligence. Subscribers receive an in-depth database with... -
GOLD MOUSE WINNER
For the third consecutive Congress, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee's bipartisan Web site has been singled out as one of the best on Capitol Hill, receiving a coveted 112th Congress Gold Mouse award.In an evaluation of all 618 congressional Web sites, the energy committee was the only U.S. Senate committee to win a Gold Mouse. The Congressional Management Foundation, a nonprofit... -
THE CHALLENGE OF MAINTAINING CREDIT QUALITY
UNDERLYING THE INVESTMENT-GRADE CHARACTER of the U.S. investorowned electric utility industry rests the monopolistic structure of the industry and the framework of state rate-setting jurisdiction. These two features propel utilities into a credit stature that few corporate industries enjoy. Indeed, without such an underpinning, the industry would exhibit a credit profile that is more speculative... -
A Q&A WITH REP. ED WHITFIELD
WHEN REPUBLICATIONS TOOK CONTROL OF CONGRESS two years ago, their influence over the future of national energy policy increased. The Obama administration subsequently rolled back several regulatory initiatives central to the utility sector. To better understand how House Republicans view the future of energy policy, EnergyBiz submitted questions to Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., the chairman of the... -
THE ARGUMENT FOR RENEWABLE TAX INCENTIVES
SUPPORT FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY is critical to American businesses, consumers, our national security and our environment. Investing in our budding clean energy businesses is vitally important for the American economy because it creates jobs, curbs our dangerous dependence on foreign oil, and creates the market certainty that fuels continued growth in the renewable energy sector.Federal energy tax... -
OGE ENERGY’S REID NUTTALL
REID NUTTALL, vice president of information technology and chief information officer of OGE Energy, received the 2011 CIO of the Year KITE Award at the Knowledge2011 Executive Summit in early November.The KITE Awards - representing knowledge, innovation, technology and excellence - recognize utility leaders who have moved their companies forward through strategic initiatives, measurable... -
GETTING PAST SOLYNDRA
LAST FALL, WHEN SOLYNDRA COLLAPSED, it left many Democrats and the White House red-faced. And regardless of what investigations of the solar company ultimately find, the company failure was red meat for Republicans. Never mind the arguments made by Democrats that the loan guarantee program that had been so lucrative for the solar company was designed to help risky ventures, or that Solyndra's $...1 -
TRANSFORMING TRANSMISSION
TO SURVIVE, modern man requires electricity. Electricity to work, to cook and to play.It is a paradox that we cannot imagine living without electricity, while we at the same time do not accept the power pylon as a part of our cultural landscape.They dominate the landscape with visual noise.Power pylons perform a vital function. Nevertheless, most people regard them as a threat. They are perceived... -
What's Top of Mind for CFOs?
UTILITIES ARE PREPARING to make an unprecedented mountain of capital expenditures, yet sales have been flat in recent recessionary years. Regulators are increasingly concerned about rising rates. And several huge utility merger deals are nearing completion, changing the industry landscape.Challenges continue to mount for utilities and energy companies as they execute their mission to provide...
