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Featured Energy, Resources, Materials, Electric Power Article, interview Rocky Mountain Institute's Amory Lovins
Using energy more efficiently: An interview with the Rocky Mountain Institute's Amory Lovins

July 2008

Amory Lovins argues that market forces, not regulation, will play the key role in promoting more efficient energy consumption.

Featured Energy, Resources, Materials, Electric Power Article, regulation for European electric power
Next-generation regulation for European electric power

June 2008

The Performance-Based Rate model has helped both distributors and users of electricity, but for it to remain beneficial, significant changes must be made.

Featured Energy, Resources, Materials, Electric Power Article, interview txu ceo
Premium Content
Leading change: An interview with TXU's CEO

February 2007

C. John Wilder describes how economic thinking helped him lead TXU out of a regulated mind-set and toward competitive success.

The Archive

2004
Rethinking US energy policy Premium Content

August 2004

Massive investment is needed to avert power shortages. That calls for a sound national strategy.

2003
Turkey’s quest for stable growth Premium Content

December 2003

Turkey has come a long way, but the informal economy, macroeconomic and political instability, and state ownership continue to hold it back.

What power consumers want

August 2003

Most customers are satisfied with the reliability of their electric service. So why are power distributors still making huge infrastructure investments?

Climate change for Europe's utilities

February 2003

Power producers should pay close attention to a European Commission proposal to curb greenhouse gas emissions. It could have paradoxical effects.

2002
Branding electrons Premium Content

February 2002

The retailing of electricity is often considered a business trading solely on price, but a study of consumers in three European countries shows that more profitable offerings have an audience.

Power by the minute

February 2002

US electricity utilities risk another California-style crisis unless regulators link prices in the wholesale and retail markets.

Why electricity markets go haywire

February 2002

Generators, retailers, customers, and regulators alike must get used to the idea that electricity is a special kind of commodity.

2001
Finding the balance of power Premium Content

November 2001

Deregulation has given rise to a new breed of highly profitable US power generators and electricity traders, but the industry faces a shakeout as supply catches up with demand.

Unbundling the unbundled Premium Content

November 2001

A second wave of disaggregation is transforming—yet again—the way asset-intensive companies work.

Paying a green premium Premium Content

August 2001

Consumers may distrust their utilities’ green credentials, but effective branding—through alliances with green brands like Greenpeace and the Worldwide Fund for Nature—may help overcome their skepticism.

The deregulation that wasn’t

August 2001

California’s energy crisis has been stoked by the excessive revision of rules—in a supposedly deregulated market.

The M&A trap for utilities Premium Content

August 2001

European utilities are off on a buying spree—and sometimes pay more than 100 percent of the value of the assets they acquire. Understanding how asset prices move in a newly deregulated market should help them make smarter purchases.

The race to the bottom Premium Content

August 2001

When industries deregulate, their managers face unfamiliar challenges. Price wars are often the unfortunate—and unnecessary—result.

Sizing power

February 2001

The power companies’ urge to merge probably makes them weaker, not stronger.

2000
A shopper’s guide to electricity assets in Europe Premium Content

June 2000

Three distinct kinds of markets have emerged since Europe’s electricity industry was deregulated. Each sends a different message to asset hunters.

Diversify with care Premium Content

June 2000

In following a penchant to diversify, European utilities risk biting off more than they can chew. Eventually, they will probably find themselves paring down their asset base as quickly as they are now enlarging it.

1999
The new electric industry: Reflections and refinements Premium Content

May 1999

In a follow-up to “The new electric industry: What’s at stake?” one of the authors revisits that topic and argues that, in general, the changes that he and his fellow authors expected have come to pass. But here he refines three of their predictions.

European power: Managing through deregulation Premium Content

February 1999

The need for restructuring is clear. For managers, this will require a keen sense of which advantages to protect and which to abandon. Preparing for change, and yet limiting its pace.

Regulating utilities: Have we got the formula right? Premium Content

February 1999

Although much copied, Britain’s RPI-X approach may not be the best way to drive better service and efficiency in the long run. A formula based on the use of rolling historical benchmarks could provide better incentives.

World Power & light Premium Content

February 1999

The forces driving globalization are strong, but they will take time to play out. Already, meter reading is becoming a stand-alone business. Huge opportunities arise from huge productivity gaps: the best utilities lose 7 percent of the electricity they transmit, the worst 17 percent.

1996
The new electric industry: What’s at stake? Premium Content

August 1996

Three new and different businesses will emerge. Many traditional industry players will have to close or sell large portions of their current business. No one has yet discovered the electric equivalent of call waiting, but they will.

Why power projects get stalled Premium Content

May 1996

There are now 200 would-be power producers in China, India, and Indonesia. Almost all need to change the way they conceive and deliver projects. Time to recognize the diseconomies of scale?

1994
Electric power—the next generation Premium Content

August 1994

Traditional electric utilities are a dying breed. Competition, privatization, and deregulation are shaping a new power industry.

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