March 03, 2010

"Public awareness is always the first step in winning a political battle in the United States," said Theodore Roosevelt in his gubernatorial efforts to promote conservation to the largely indifferent citizenry of New York State.

To move smart grid initiatives forward in the Northeast United States, keeping the public aware of what a more intelligent utility can mean to their lives is critical. The benefits of a smarter, more robust grid and the consequences of not having one must be clearly communicated to garner broad public support.

February 26, 2010

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) has placed an unprecedented focus on state and local energy issues. With half of the approximately $580 billion in ARRA funding having been pegged for states and localities, those efforts that, over time, best pool and manage regional resources will charge ahead of the pack to fruition. That all-important word -- collaboration -- sets the stage for successful working relationships.

Earlier this year, prior to the first smart grid stimulus awards being granted, Carl Imhoff, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's manager of the electrical energy sector, spoke to Intelligent Utility about the importance of stimulus funding in the electricity sector. "It's going to be an important stimulus to help get the vendor community, the utilities, the regulators and the consumer engaged, and to pick up the pace in this transformation, and it will have some important, lasting benefits," he predicted.

February 24, 2010

Is the $787 billion stimulus plan living up to its promise? The measure, which passed largely along party lines more than a year ago, has sought to stem job losses and to create a new economic foundation.

Utilities are, in effect, at the epicenter of this transformation. To some, the industry is working hard to build such a future but to others, it is playing it too safe.

February 22, 2010

The passion surrounding nuclear power is engaging Washington as two issues have reentered the public domain: increasing loan guarantees to new projects and the casting aside of a permanent storage facility for nuclear waste.

While the nuclear industry has gotten a second wind, it is still getting sideswiped by opponents. As such, it may be too soon to pronounce its official revival. But the reality is that the energy source has earned bipartisan support. The Bush administration saw it as a way to increase the nation's energy independence while Obama's team mostly views it as a potential tool to combat climate change.

January 29, 2010

The ultimate fate of carbon policies may be up in the air. But utilities and industrial enterprises are still under pressure to report their climate-related activities to investors.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has voted 3-2 along party lines to force companies to consider their potential exposure to climate change when it comes to filing their financial statements. While the position is one that the Obama administration has advocated, its genesis formed a few years earlier as investor and environmental groups joined hands to petition the body for uniform rules.