by Nancy Spring
"You can get your electricity for free." That's what yard signs in Texas advertised when the state first deregulated. By "spinning," or switching from one retail electric provider to the next in a constant rotation, it was actually possible. According to one utility customer service person I spoke with, there was an entire social network in Texas built around cheating the electric company. (There aren't that many REPs left in Texas now, so bills may have to paid.) In Massachusetts, some unwary low income utility customers paid their bills in cash to someone who claimed to be an authorized agent. They received hand-written receipts for their payments, before the "agent" took the money and ran.
Those are just a couple of things I heard about when writing the bad debt article, "PAST DUE". In fact, I learned a lot of interesting things while working on this issue:
- The U.S. renewables market is the next hot global opportunity for investments and business expansion. Foreign investors with deep pockets are making deals but the most attractive ones are going fast. (Industry Report)
- Employees at Xcel Energy play "Zodiak: The Game of Business Finance and Strategy" to learn how to think like CEOs. (Business Acumen.)
- Nuclear and renewables, our best bets for fuel options with zero GHG emissions, could be co-developed in an "energy park" to avoid the NIMBY problems that plague both. (Benefit of Counsel.)
- A rate schedule is one of the most important things that a public utility can own and new FERC regulations include a provision dealing with when a rate schedule can be transferred without prior FERC permission. (Loosening the Reins.)
- The acid gas removal system in an integrated gasification combined cycle power plant can produce a nearly pure sequestration-ready CO2 stream. (Coal Gasification.)
- Fuel cell microgrid research, development and demonstration has progressed further in Japan than in the U.S. We have one microgrid that uses fuel cells while Japan has several. (Fuel Cell Microgrids)
- Solid-waste landfills are a major source of methane emissions, a powerful greenhouse gas with more than 20 times the warming impact of carbon dioxide, but landfill-gas power facilities destroy methane gas and produce "clean" electricity. (Paved with Good Intentions.)
 Substation in Salt Lake City. Bas-relief panels depicting winter sports decorate the walls. |
And that's just the start! There's a lot more in this issue, one that I enjoyed putting together and that I hope you'll enjoy reading.
More on attractive substations
I added to my collection of beautiful substations when I was in Salt Lake City for the DistribuTECH advisory committee meeting. Artists created a series of bas-relief panels of figure skaters and other winter sport aficionados to liven up the wall around it. I'd really enjoy seeing photos you have of great substation design, too. Please send them to me at nancys@pennwell.com.
Nancy Spring, managing editor