Electric Light & Power articles from September 2007

Electric Light & Power archives from September 2007

Events.(Calendar)
September 1, 2007... APRIL April 15-18 EEI Spring Transmission, Distribution and Metering Joint Conference Columbus, Ohio eei.org April 23-26 GridWeek Washington, D.C. gridweek.com MAY May 7-11 Metering,...

Focus on the chief risk officer: meet Calpine's new CRO, Gary Germeroth.(Interview)
September 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In June, Calpine Corporation named Gary Germeroth to lead Calpine's risk management function as executive vice president and chief risk officer. Here he discusses key risk management issues facing Calpine,...

Energy policy in harmony with the laws of thermodynamics.
September 1, 2007... Both houses of Congress recently passed energy bills: H.R. 3221 in the House and H.R. 6 (an amended House bill) in the Senate. Differences between them will make for a contentious conference. A White House veto threat directed to the House bill...

A good year by any measure.(2006 Utility Financial RANKINGS)
September 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Astronomic. Phenomenal. In 2005, the adjectives were "boring" or "stable" but for 2006 things became exciting. This was a year with real character. The utility financial rankings is one of our most popular...

Profile light: Jim Kerr, NARUC President.(National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners)(Interview)
September 1, 2007... Jim Kerr, NARUC President Jim Kerr comes from a family with a long history of public service in North Carolina, so it was a "natural progression" for him to serve on the North Carolina Utilities Commission. Then, in 2006, he became...

Re-regulation is not the solution to high prices.
September 1, 2007... A stable regulatory environment is critical to the development of energy infrastructure in deregulated markets. Only regulatory stability will deliver the full benefits of wholesale and retail competition to customers. The very prospect of...

Benchmark to improve service.
September 1, 2007... With the recent release of the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study, many utilities no doubt will be interested in benchmarking with the best-in-class companies to identify improvement...

The power of positive relationships--managing regulatory forces.
September 1, 2007... America is at a critical crossroads in terms of electricity supply and demand. The Energy Information Administration estimates that total electricity demand in the U.S. will increase by 1.8 percent in 2007 and an additional 1.4 percent in 2008....

Gaz de France/SUEZ merger could close in early 2008.(News/Analysis)
September 1, 2007... In September, the boards of directors of Gaz de France (Paris:GAZ) and SUEZ approved the new outline of the merger project between SUEZ and Gaz de France. This project will result in the creation of a leading group in the gas and electric...

National Grid's KeySpan acquisition complete.(News/Analysis)
September 1, 2007... National Grid (LSE: NG.; NYSE:NGG) completed its $11.8 billion acquisition of KeySpan in August. "We've been working toward this goal for well over a year and I am absolutely delighted that we have achieved the final milestone," said Steve...

Black Hills Corp. closer to Aquila acquisition.(News/Analysis)
September 1, 2007... The Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) gave its approval to the proposed acquisition of Aquila, Inc. (NYSE:ILA) natural gas utility assets and operations in the state of Iowa by Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH) The IUB's approval came after the...

TXU shareholders approve merger.(News/Analysis)
September 1, 2007... TXU Corp. (NYSE: TXU) shareholders approved the merger agreement with Texas Energy Future Holdings Limited Partnership (TEF) in early September. TEF was formed by a group of investors led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) and Texas Pacific...

Brattle study finds significant increases in utility construction costs not yet reflected in current forecasts of retail rate increases.(News/Analysis)
September 1, 2007... Electric utilities nationwide are facing substantially higher construction costs as they continue to address the country's pent-up need for new investment in generation, transmission, distribution, and environmental compliance, according to a...

Study finds more utilities are planning for demand response programs.(News/Analysis)
September 1, 2007... The latest environmental trends, consumer attitudes and technology advancements have utilities poised to launch demand response programs, but whether or not those programs get off the ground remains to be seen, research firm Chartwell reports...

Public power credit ratings.
September 1, 2007... The electric industry has always been capital intensive. If a utility has a good credit rating, it's like money in the bank. Faced with possible expensive upgrades and new construction, public power utilities are especially concerned about...

High blood pressure can keep drivers off the job-and that costs the utility money.(DOT Sets Tough Standards For Commercial Drivers)
September 1, 2007... Every time a commercial driver gets behind a truck's steering wheel, there's a certain degree of risk. For the driver, a sedentary job with limited access to healthy food and exercise raises blood pressure and the risk of cardiovascular...

Innovative distributed generation program is "win-win".(Demand Management at a Rural Co-op)
September 1, 2007... Your utility wants to start a demand management program. You think an interruptible rate program is a good idea, but you've got one heck of a geographically diverse distribution system. What would you get if you took a novel approach to the...

Save the world, make millions. Here's how ...
September 1, 2007... You can't go to an industry event these days without hearing about plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, or PHEVs. PHEVs are the hot new thing in the electric power industry and it makes sense. PHEVs offer so many benefits to the utility...

Regasified LNG: from the re-gas terminal to market.
September 1, 2007... The siting of regasification terminals has received the lion's share of attention in discussions about bringing additional liquefied natural gas (LNG) into the U.S. market. Less attention has been given to issues affecting the movement of...

Change brings opportunity.(CS Week)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... Some 2,000 years ago, the Roman philosopher Cicero said, "The diligent farmer plants trees, of which he himself will never see the fruit." In a farmer's operation, he make changes based upon his best plans for the future, even though he knows...

Today's smart grid is about to retire: meet the new IT workforce.
September 1, 2007... Last month, I was married in the garden of an antebellum mansion. No longer a single man, my life must change in ways I can't even begin to anticipate. And as electric utilities see large components of their workforces retire over the next few...

Commentary.
September 1, 2007... Last year, Portland General Electric was the cover story for our September/October issue. PGE CEO and President Peggy Fowler talked with us about surviving Enron"s collapse and how proud she was to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock...