Knowledge Problem

Pjm Report Says the Regional Power Market Works, Doesn’t Always Give Regulators What They Want

PJM has issued a report that, no surprise, finds the regional power promotes efficiency in operation and offers the right incentives for market entry and exit. The report does a few things, but none perhaps as useful as reminding policymakers that transparent, well-functioning markets do not always deliver the outcomes they wish for. From the

Michael Giberson May 22, 2016 No Comments

Promoting Energy Conservation Through Thermal Imaging

When I posted the suggestion that adding thermal imaging capability to the cameras on ordinary smart phones would boost energy efficiency, I did not know there was published research offering some support for claim. As it turns out…. Julie Goodhew, Sabine Pahl, Tim Auburn, and Steve Goodhew, “Making Heat Visible: Promoting Energy Conservation Behaviors Through Thermal Imaging” Environment &

Michael Giberson May 17, 2016 No Comments

The Mystery of Fracking Revealed by Intrepid Washington Post Reporter

From the Washington Post: “This mystery was solved: Scientists say chemicals from fracking wastewater can taint fresh water nearby.”* The article itself mentions one study done by the USGS looking upstream and downstream from a single wastewater storage site in near Lochgelly, WV. But a study by the U.S. Geological Survey appears to have answered

Michael Giberson May 15, 2016 No Comments

Economies of Scope Are Underappreciated

Today in my antitrust and regulation class we talked about natural monopoly theory and what drives the natural monopoly cost structure. A lot of times in practical conversation with regulators and industry we talk about economies of scale, the decrease in average cost of production as the quantity produced increases, as being the main factor

Lynne Kiesling May 5, 2016 4 Comments

Does Bad Regulatory Policy Sow the Seeds of Better Regulatory Policy?

Severin Borenstein asks whether growth of distributed energy is mostly an uneconomic response to regulatory dysfunction, and raises the question of whether uneconomic responses might lead to regulatory improvements. He doesn’t quite frame the issues quite like that, his post is somewhat exploratory in form, but I think this is the question he is aiming at.

Michael Giberson May 4, 2016 1 Comment

Widespread Access to Thermal Imagery Will Boost Home Energy Efficiency

When the cameras built in to everyday phones have smart thermal imaging capability, then – finally – the dreams of energy efficiency experts will come true. Consumers will have easy access to pictures showing hot spots and cold spots around windows and doors and on walls and ceilings. People will spend more to replace windows and

Michael Giberson April 19, 2016 2 Comments

Good Environmental News from the Chesapeake

I think we could use some good news this week. According to an article in the Baltimore Sun, the current blue crab population in the Chesapeake Bay is one-third larger than it was at the same time in 2015: There are more than 550 million blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay, an increase of more

Knowledge Problem April 13, 2016 No Comments

The Federal Government Wants to Help Trucking Companies Save Money

The EPA and the U.S. Department of Transportation think trucking companies in the United States are not smart enough to understand that fuel expenses are worth managing carefully. Despite industry analysis identifying fuel costs ranging from 30 to 40 percent of variable costs per mile, so it is no secret in the trucking business, the federal

Michael Giberson April 7, 2016 No Comments

A Facelift and a Schedule

I’ve made some changes to the KP page. First and foremost I asked my brilliant, creative friend Danell Drazek to design a logo and color scheme for me, which inspired the facelift. If you need any design work I recommend you contact her! Second, I’m going to schedule new content every Wednesday. Mike and I

Lynne Kiesling April 6, 2016 No Comments

My R Street Policy Study: Electricity Market Alternatives to Regulatory Net Metering

Institutional persistence creates some of the thorniest problems in public policy, including electricity policy. Institutions change more slowly than technology and markets, because of both design and status quo bias, which means that dynamic processes of economic and technological change can make regulatory institutions outdated. This mismatch is showing up right now in the electricity

Lynne Kiesling April 6, 2016 2 Comments

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