December 08, 2008 
 
by Gary M. Stern  
  
Utilities are facing major issues such as raising capital, increasing the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency, and dealing with a changing political environment.

The biggest of them all, though, are climate change and the expected carbon dioxide emission controls. Just as important is the renewed emphasis on restricting noxious fumes from coal-fired power plants. All these matters have leapt to the forefront of the legal and regulatory landscape in the utility field.

December 05, 2008

Russia's electric market needs to be repaired. But hard times are getting in the way.

The current financial turmoil has left it in a state of disarray. And if the nation went ahead with plans to ease electricity subsidies and unleash market forces then prices would jump and create even more tumult. The conundrum turns away investors, who won't risk their money if prices are fixed and fair returns are elusive.

In July, shareholders of RAO Unified Energy Systems voted as planned to restructure, allowing private interests to own 45 percent of the utility while still giving the state a 52 percent stake. The mega-enterprise then splintered into a dozen smaller businesses in an effort to be lean and competitive. Price subsidies -- about 75 percent of customers' bills -- would be lifted in two stages with everyone paying market rates in 2011.

December 01, 2008

Entergy Corp.'s planned spin-off of its unregulated nuclear generation units is creating a lot of stir among shareholders and activists alike. The idea is to create additional value for those shareholders willing to incur more risks. But opponents of the concept fear that ratepayers and taxpayers will bear the costs of any failures.

Companies of all stripes have sought before to separate assets that don't mix in an effort to accommodate various shareholders. Utilities are no different. In the 1990s, regulated units were earning tepid returns while the unregulated power generation had seen their stocks -- temporarily -- go through the roof.

November 26, 2008 Unrelenting growth in power consumption, a switch for cleaner energy sources, pollution control efforts and pent-up demand for new generation sources have all combined to create a boom in power plant building in recent years.

The power plant boom may continue because of this demand, even with a credit crisis that gained steam in the summer and caused stock markets to plunge in the fall. Large plants that take years to plan and then construct can't simply be stopped once they reach a certain point.

November 21, 2008

President-elect Barack Obama can't win. Coal associations are skeptical of his energy plans because he is pushing carbon cuts before the technologies to fully achieve such aims have matured. Environmentalists are also cautious and contend that his advocacy of "clean coal" does not make sense.

Coal will continue to be an integral energy source. Improving and developing the tools to make it cleaner does not contradict alternative energy producing methods. The reality is that long-term energy demand will trend higher and therefore necessitate a diversified fuel mix. Each possibility must then be pressed to be its best. That includes coal, which will be under intensified pressure now that the Democrats control Washington.