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The States

Illicit Marketing Practices

Byline: 

Phillip Cross

We’ll cover state PUC rulings from New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Ohio, dealing with 1) billing overcharges, 2) deceptive promises of savings, 3) faulty enrollment practices, 4) “slamming,” 5) misleading sales scripts used in telemarketing, 6) hidden fixed charges, and 7) concealed pass-through clauses.
Author Bio: 

Phillip Cross is legal editor, Public Utilities Fortnightly, and serves on the editorial staff of Utility Regulatory News, published by Public Utilities Reports, Inc. (our publisher), which reports weekly on ratemaking and regulatory decisions issued by state public utility commissions.

Category (Actual): 
CIS & Billing
Customer Engagement
The States
Energy Policy & Legislation

State PUCs take aim at unscrupulous electric and gas suppliers.

Threat From Behind the Meter

Byline: 

John Slocum

Behind-the-meter energy threatens the utility business model. Does history offer a lesson for crafting a response?
Author Bio: 

John Slocum is an executive advisor at Concentric Energy Advisors.

Category (Actual): 
Distributed Generation & Microgrids
The States
Strategy & Planning

The case for utilities to compete directly with distributed resources.

Federal Feud

Byline: 

Bruce W. Radford and Michael T. Burr

Magazine Volume: 
Fortnightly Magazine - November 2012

When Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays led an attack on the federal Springfield Armory in January 1787—the spark that ignited the federalist movement—he scarcely could’ve guessed that now, 225 years later, his spiritual descendants would still be fighting that very same battle.

Author Bio: 

Bruce W. Radford (radford@pur.com) is Fortnightly’s publisher, and Michael T. Burr (burr@pur.com) is the editor-in-chief.

Category (Actual): 
The States
The Feds
Environmental

The jurisdictional battle rages on, with FERC and EPA squaring off against the states.

Rooftop Tsunami

Byline: 

Michael T. Burr, Editor-in-Chief

Magazine Volume: 
Fortnightly Magazine - July 2012

A growing wave of rooftop PV projects is starting to look ominous to some utilities. Will lawmakers accept utilities’ warnings at face value—or will they suspect they’re crying wolf?

Category: 
Frontlines
Sidebar: 
Sidebar Title: 
Transition to a PV World
Sidebar Body: 

Keeping the lights on in a world of mushrooming solar rooftops requires several key technology and policy developments. During the 2012 EEI Annual Convention, panelists on a session titled “Distribution 2020: Implications of a Rapidly Evolving Distribution Grid,” offered several suggestions for managing the transition.

Technology requirements:

• Bi-directional smart grid

• New safety protocols

• Uniform interconnection standards

• Integrated distribution management systems (DMS)

Policy requirements:

• Focus incentives on installations in preferred locations

• Push the limits of demand response with direct load control

• Plan holistically—account for the total costs of distributed generation

• Apply formula rates to keep utilities whole

• Accelerate depreciation appropriately

Author Bio: 

Michael T. Burr is Fortnightly’s editor-in-chief. Email him at burr@pur.com

Category (Actual): 
Solar
The States
Smart Grid

Utilities sound the alarm as PV nears grid parity.

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