A computer model was developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to analyze the electricity production, costs, and prices for two geographical regions for a single year. Bulk-power trading is allowed between the two regions and market clearing prices are determined based on marginal costs. The...

Over the past five years, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) has been collecting data annually from U.S. electric utilities on their demand-side management (DSM) programs, both current and projected. The latest data cover activities for 1993 and projections for 1994 and 1998. In 1993,...

Historically, regulators imposed resource-planning rules on electric utilities because of the utility`s obligation to serve. Given that obligation, regulators wanted utilities to plan for and procure a portfolio of resources that provided customers with low-cost electricity, stable prices, and a...

Transition costs are the potential monetary losses that electric- utility shareholders, ratepayers, or other parties might experience because of structural changes in the electricity industry. Regulators, policy analysts, utilities, and consumer groups have proposed a number of strategies to...

Estimates of stranded commitments for U.S. investor-owned utilities range widely, with many falling in the range of $100 to $200 billion. These potential losses exist because some utility-owned power plants, long-term power-purchase contracts and fuel-supply contracts, regulatory assets, and...

This report describes the structure of, and results from, a spreadsheet model. The model simulates markets for seven services: losses, regulation, spinning reserve, supplemental reserve,load following, energy imbalance, and voltage support. For completeness, the model also calculates costs for...

In part, the impetus for restructuring the U.S. electricity industry stems from the large regional disparities in electricity prices. Indeed, industry reforms are moving most rapidly in high-cost states, such as California and those in the Northeast. Legislators, regulators, and many others in...

Estimates of stranded commitments for US investor-owned electric utilities range widely, from as little as $20 billion to as much as $500 billion (more than double the shareholder equity in US utilities). These potential losses are a consequence of the above-market book values for some...

Progress is evident as the restructuring debate in the U.S. electricity industry completes its third year. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission released a final rule on transmission open access-a key element to facilitate more efficient wholesale markets. The majority of states have...

Utility energy efficiency programs hurt shareholders because these programs reduce electricity use, and this reduction lowers revenues by more than costs are cut. Utilities and their regulators have adopted various methods to deal with these net lost revenues. The two most widely used methods...