4 item(s) were returned.
Senior Fellow, Energy
R Street
Competition in Electric Power—What Does the Record Say? About 25 years ago the electric power industry was deep into debates over competition and monopoly. For most of the last century, nearly everyone agreed that monopoly was not only natural but even desirable in electric power as long as regulators ensured that the benefits of monopoly were shared with consumers. Toward the end of the century, the conventional view was under challenge—rates were rising, the industry had seen a few major blackouts and technological growth stalled. Dissatisfaction with the regulated electric power industry was intensified by the apparent success of deregulatory… [more]
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U.S. House of Representatives
Earlier this week, H.R. 3826, the “Electricity Security and Affordability Act,” which I co-authored with Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), advanced through the House Energy and Power Subcommittee, by a vote of 18 to 11. This bipartisan, bicameral legislation provides a reasonable alternative to EPA’s proposed greenhouse gas standards for new power plants and the agency’s planned regulations for existing power plants. It now moves to the full Energy and Commerce Committee for consideration. Under EPA’s proposal, industry would not even be able to build the most state-of-the-art clean coal-fired power plant, because the technology required under the proposed regulation is… [more]
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Vice President, US Retail Regulatory Strategy
National Grid, US
With the exception of EPA rulemaking and stimulus, federal energy policy has been at a virtual standstill since EISA 2007. That makes state legislatures and regulators the focal point for new ideas. California, with its aggressive efficiency and renewable targets, has continued to be a key market for addressing the financial and operational costs of configuring a new energy system. In a previous life, I remember an industry colleague’s advice on drafting energy legislation; “create principles regulators can tweak rather than inflexible legislative fiat”. This expression comes to mind as a litmus test for California’s new landmark energy legislation; Assembly… [more]
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A recent hearing of the Energy and Power Subcommittee discussed the regulatory, market and legal barriers to exporting Coal and LNG. Critical issues were the length of time associated with the permitting process as well as the economic and climate impacts associated with the exports. Christopher Smith, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary and Acting Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy at the DOE, testified that most of the foundation has been built and that future approvals should be expedited. Jeff Wright, Director, Office of Energy Projects at FERC, stated that many of the delays experienced were the result of filers submitting incomplete… [more]
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