Lynne Kiesling KP readers know the answer to that question: reducing peak demand, load shifting across time, better capacity utilization. But there’s a bit more to it, as you can see in the New York Times article on Idaho Power’s rebates to their customers for reducing their irrigation during peak hours, as well as allowing …
Lynne Kiesling [I love the word kerfuffle] Price discrimination is the basic economics question in the current iPad-induced Amazon-Macmillan kerfuffle, even more basic than the DRM/property rights issues and the antitrust/resale price maintenance issues I discussed in my last post on the matter. Lots of people have weighed in on the subject in the past …
The Amazon-macmillan Ebook Kerfuffle: an Ode to Price Discrimination Read More »
Lynne Kiesling I hope all of you economists out there are following the current brouhaha between Amazon and the publisher Macmillan, because the number of fascinating economics issues is stunning. In brief, Macmillan is one of the publishers working with Apple on the iPad and Apple’s ebook store. At the same time (I remain agnostic …
Publishers and Ebooks: Innovation, Drm, and Resale Price Maintenance Read More »
Lynne Kiesling Last Friday National Public Radio ran a Planet Money story called “Do smart meters curb energy use?” (first link is to program listing, second is to story transcript) Members of the KP community will not be surprised by any of the content in the report, but it does provide a good introduction to …
Lynne Kiesling Whirlpool and Direct Energy have long been two of the most forward-looking companies working in the electricity value chain. Whirlpool was the appliance partner on the GridWise Olympic Peninsula transactive network project, and have committed to all of their global products being grid friendly and transactive by 2015. Direct Energy, an energy retailer, …
Michael Giberson In a white paper released yesterday, the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) identified three requirements necessary for the smart grid to create value for residential customers: Pricing must provide incentives to manage energy use more efficiently and enable consumers to save money. Communication Standards must be open, flexible, secure, and limited in …
Electric Power Rate Reforms Needed for Smart Grid to Create Value 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 »
Lynne Kiesling This story will have you shaking your head in disbelief in multiple dimensions. The electricity industry in Mexico is government-owned but decentralized, with multiple public distribution utility companies. As reported in the Wall Street Journal, over the weekend the Mexican government took over the second-largest of these government-run distribution companies, Luz y Fuerza …
High Costs Drive Government to Take over Government-Owned Electric Utility in Mexico Read More »
Michael Giberson From Walmart’s contribution to a complaint against PJM filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Wednesday: Demand response initiatives can originate with a utility program, an ISO or RTO program, or by the customer for different reasons. Walmart has been one of the pioneers of demand response in addition to being a …
Walmart Says Iso Power Markets Offer Best Programs for Supporting Demand Response Read More »
Lynne Kiesling While I am musing on the problems with the traditional regulatory model in electricity, as in my prior renewables feed-in reverse auction post, I am going to pile on (yes, it is like shooting fish in a barrel, but it’s the first day after a long holiday weekend, so cut me some slack, …
Another Reason Why Retail Regulation is Obsolete: Atrocious Incentives Read More »
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