Michael Giberson From the Texas Energy and Environment Blog, reports that in New Mexico “solar panels on homes can take as little as seven years to pay for themselves in energy savings.” The post continues: That’s faster than Texas, where even in the best economic case, solar panels take at least a decade to pay …
Michael Giberson A few years ago Lubbock’s municipal electric utility was in a tight financial spot that threatened to put it and the city into bankruptcy. When the utility pushed through a rate increase, customers started switching to competing electric utility Xcel. The dwindling customer base forced the municipal utility to find another way out …
Michael Giberson Shifting world natural gas supply conditions have put the squeeze on long-term gas supply contracts between Russian gas giant Gazprom and its European customers. A summary from the Wall Street Journal: European energy companies, faced with weakening demand and plentiful lower-cost fuel supplies, have bought far less natural gas from Russia’s OAO Gazprom …
Gazprom, Europe, and Long-Term Take-or-Pay Contracts Read More »
Michael Giberson Regular readers of Knowledge Problem will know that both Lynne and I are enthusiastic about the potential for smart meters and the smart grid to benefit consumers. (The difference between us on this topic is that she knows much much more than I do. Examples: One, two, three, and four.) But, as Lynne …
Smart Meter Benefits Mostly Going to Utilities So Far Read More »
Michael Giberson In a previous post I was complaining that the entrenched regulated utility industry makes the electric power business resistant to entrepreneurial efforts to shake things up, even when those entrepreneurs want to do things that regulators, utilities, and consumers say they want. (Like environmentally-friendly cogeneration projects, as The New Republic story mentioned.) A …
An Illustration of the Problem Discussed in an Earlier Post Read More »
Michael Giberson The New Republic has an excellent article by Bradford Plumer about the current state of the electric power industry and the prospects of the industry achieving what diverse interests expect of it. (Yes, in TNR, who’d a thunk it?) The article highlights the political economy of regulated electric utilities and their immense lobbying …
Private Wires and the Electric Power Industry You Want Read More »
Michael Giberson A high-profile, high-technology power project is making waves well beyond the small town of Clovis, New Mexico, where it has secured land for development. I’ve been telling my students and anyone else I can induce to listen to me for a few minutes (i.e., mostly just my students) that my new hometown of …
Tres Amigas Project Proposes to Connect Eastern, Western, and Texas Power Grids Read More »
Michael Giberson Not all of the news this week is about Nobel prize surprises. The Los Angeles Times reports that California is adopting feed-in tariffs for distributed renewable power production: Under AB 920, the state Public Utilities Commission will set a rate for utilities to compensate customers whose solar or wind systems produce more power …
Michael Giberson Does the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) asserted authority over the Installed Capacity Requirement, on the ground that it is “a practice affecting rates,” contravene the Federal Power Act’s specific limits on FERC’s authority, and express preservation of State authority over generation facilities and system adequacy? That is the question for the U.S. …
Michael Giberson The Dallas Morning News has published an in-depth story detailing the apparent lack of effort put into consumer protection issues in the restructured retail power market in Texas. The story focuses on the prepaid end of the business, which mostly services customers lacking established credit and unable to post a deposit. Rates tend …
Is Consumer Protection Lacking in Texas Retail Electric Power Market? Read More »
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