Electricity

New York Electric Power System Operator Reports Power Prices Drop As Fuel Costs Fall

Electricity, Energy markets / By

Michael Giberson A news release recently put out by the New York ISO – the organization that manages the electric transmission grid and the integrated wholesale power market in the state – observes that electric power prices are dropping along with fuel prices. The statement noted that power prices had increased as natural gas prices …

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(Almost) Live from New Orleans, Blogging the 2008 Usaee Conference

Electricity, Energy markets / By

Michael Giberson No, I’m not in New Orleans, but at the Morgan Energy blog, Cheryl Morgan is blogging about her experience at the U.S. Association for Energy Economics conference. She has been kind enough to respond to my questions, so be sure to read the comments. As of Friday morning: Live From USAEE 2008 USAEE …

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Project Better Place’s Electric Vehicle Network, Now Coming to Hawaii

1 Comment / Economics, Electricity, Energy markets, Environmental policy / By

Lynne Kiesling One of the most interesting entrepreneurial developments in the past couple of years is Project Better Place, which has one of the most well-articulated corporate visions I’ve ever seen. Their business model: evolve beyond using oil-based transportation fuels by constructing a network of charging stations and battery swap stations for electric vehicles. Their …

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“Power Reports Battle It Out” and Other Energy News from the Houston Chronicle

Electricity, Energy markets, Politics / By

Michael Giberson The Houston Chronicle has long been one of the best newspapers for energy news, perhaps why it is frequently cited here at KP.* (You can subscribe to an RSS feed focused on Chronicle energy stories.) Over the last few days: “Power reports battle it out” — “A new crop of studies offering competing …

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Worth Further Investigation: An Unexpected Drop in U.s. Electricity Consumption

6 Comments / Electricity / By

Michael Giberson Rebecca Smith reports in the WSJ: An unexpected drop in U.S. electricity consumption has utility companies worried that the trend isn’t a byproduct of the economic downturn, and could reflect a permanent shift in consumption that will require sweeping change in their industry…. The data are early and incomplete, but if the trend …

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More on Wind Power and Negative Prices

5 Comments / Electricity, Energy markets, Politics / By

Michael Giberson Only after posting my earlier examination of the interaction of wind power, the production tax credit (PTC), and negative power prices in ERCOT did I discover a related analysis, “Curtailment, Negative Prices Symptomatic of Inadequate Transmission,” by Michael Goggin, an American Wind Energy Association analyst, that appeared in September at Renewable Energy World. …

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Frequent Negative Power Prices in the West Region of Ercot Result from Wasteful Renewable Power Subsidies

23 Comments / Electricity, Energy markets / By

Michael Giberson What is with all of the negative power prices in the West region of ERCOT? In the first half of 2008, prices were below zero nearly 20 percent of the time. During March, when negative prices were most frequent, prices were below zero about 33 percent of the time. After mostly taking the …

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The First Battery in the Country Capable of Storing Wind Energy?

13 Comments / Electricity, Energy markets, Environmental policy / By

Michael Giberson From the Star-Tribune in Minnesota, “Xcel looks to harness wind energy for use even when there’s no wind “: Next spring Xcel Energy Inc., the state of Minnesota and a Virginia-based technology firm will test the first battery in the country capable of storing wind energy. Well, that’s a bit wrong. Any battery …

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Not the Only Car-of-the-future Looking for a Handout

6 Comments / Electricity, Energy markets / By

Michael Giberson Jeffrey Ball at the WSJ’s Environmental Capital blog describes Xcel Energy’s first steps in bringing Vehicle-to-grid power into its SmartGridCity effort in Boulder, Colorado: So far, it’s pretty small potatoes, involving exactly one car and one plug. But boosters say it has the potential to revolutionize – and revitalize — our aging power …

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Financial Theories Can Aid in Improving a Utility’s Fuel Mix Diversity

Economics, Electricity, Energy markets / By

Michael Giberson Recently Southwestern Public Service (SPS), a local utility affiliated with Xcel Energy, issued two RFPs seeking wind power and dispatchable power resources. Among the language in both RFPs, an assertion that in evaluating the proposals “SPS seeks to diversify and minimize the development risk in its selected portfolio.” But, ideally, they should aim …

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