Here’s a little grid roundup: a USA Today editorial from last week on the barriers facing transmission upgrades. Here’s one they forgot: the tax treatment of the heavily depreciated asset base means that utilities have little incentive to sell their transmission assets to a more consolidated owner that could internalize a lot of these goofy and problematic transaction costs and incentives. The capital gains tax liability on the sale would be a deal-breaker in most situations.
An informative and well-written overview from the Washington Post, also from last week (hey! I’ve been busy.), about the consequences of the fragmentation of ownership in the industry, in conjunction with the regulatory environment.
An LA Times article from yesterday about the Congressional hearings into the blackout that commenced yesterday, and the issue of reliability.