April 11, 2008

Skills in high technology and sophisticated disciplines hold lots of sway in the New Economy, attracting the younger set that tends to be more educated and in search of upward mobility. But are utilities able to draw the best and brightest?

The power sector is marching forward. The general consensus, however, is that it has done little to make itself appealing to recent graduates. The issue has become accentuated as the industry wrestles with how to replace its now aging workforce. Indeed, challenges abound and notably the transfer of critical knowledge.

April 9, 2008

A government watchdog agency is attacking federal energy regulators, saying that that they are not properly monitoring the convergence among electric and gas utilities -- something that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission says is "inaccurate" and reflects a "misunderstanding" of the issues.

The debate centers on whether repeal of the Public Utility Holding Co. Act of 1935 (PUHCA) has worked. By rescinding the law in 2005, both Congress and the administration reasoned it would attract much-needed investment to the utility world by allowing companies to combine operations more easily. But others have feared it might make oversight of the united companies more problematic.

March 28, 2008

Tougher smog rules are here. But the clean air debate once again illustrates the divide between a conservative, pro-industry administration and its harshest critics among the environmental and health communities. The standards aim to protect public health and set out to limit ozone pollution, or smog, by utilities and other manufacturers as well as the automotive sector.

The Environmental Protection Agency took the middle road. Ground level ozone, whose main component is smog and which contributes to heart and respiratory ailments, is triggered when sunlight reacts with nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds. The new rule changes the current standard of 80-84 parts per billion to 75 parts per billion. EPA's own scientific experts said that the threshold should be lowered to between 60 and 70 parts per billion, all to minimize the number of premature deaths.

March 26, 2008

Two lawsuits intend to de-energize parts of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Environmental and conservation groups are saying that broad transmission corridors that have been authorized by the law are illegal, claiming they allow utilities to bypass state jurisdiction, environmental standards and private property rights.

By expanding the national infrastructure, policymakers also hope to modernize it and bring it in line with a 21st Century economy. Those in the trenches repeatedly express that the capacity of the transmission system is inadequate and will be unable over a sustained period to support huge increases in power demand while also maintaining that the grid is outdated. The issue has been compounded by the difficulties in both winning permits and the necessary capital, thereby increasing the risks of large-scale reliability problems.