The growth of intermittent renewable resources has sparked interest in the use of electrical storage facilities as tools for enhancing the value of renewables and maintaining power system reliability. This raises questions about how storage facilities should be compensated for their services. A...

While most U.S. states have now adopted renewable energy portfolio standards, most also require a certain percentage of such generation to be "home grown." These requirements lead to volatile and reduced-value markets for renewable energy credits and ultimately increase the cost of renewable...

The utility industry has done a relatively good job of establishing technical roadmaps for the Smart Grid. What's needed now is a social roadmap, which provides direction for how people should use the Smart Grid. With a social roadmap, three things are clear: we must understand the customer...

Following several hurricanes in 2004 and 2005, the Florida Public Service Commission initiated a multi-year process that emphasized both collaboration and research and resulted in expanded requirements for utility accountability. An alternative approach was recommended by Joshua Rokach in a...

The stated purpose of Dodd-Frank is to reduce systemic risk, increase transparency of the financial markets, and promote market integrity. Most likely, Dodd-Frank will affect energy companies in connection with their energy marketing, hedging, and trading activities - in other words, in...

Should electric utilities make short-, medium-, or long-term gas purchase commitments? The question has become more relevant as the shale-gas revolution draws attention to the possibility of long-term contracting.

Collective action on the part of America's utilities spurred the pipeline reforms that culminated in our competitive gas market. But, in the decade since then, the returns of many interstate pipelines have drifted up to surprisingly high levels. To square pipeline rates with costs for the relief...

The architecture of the German electricity market is flawed by the poor linkage of various energy policy goals. Though most of the market interventions have benign intentions from a political point of view, they often have poor economic implications and therefore result in inefficient market...

Solar storms have the potential to inflict massive damage to the North American electricity infrastructure. Policymakers and utilities should begin to coordinate efforts to protect vulnerable components, prepare system operators and automate protective operational procedures.