SCANA-Dominion Energy Utility Merger a Risky Deal for S.C. Ratepayers

Date: 14 Feb 2018 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

As monopoly utilities merge and grow bigger, they wield more power. This commentary advises South Carolina regulators, legislators, and residents to be cautious of a proposed takeover of SCANA by investor-owned utility Dominion Energy.… Read More

Community Solar and Value of Solar Under Review in Minnesota

Date: 2 Feb 2018 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

With a nation-leading community solar program, changes to the compensation scheme for participants shouldn’t be taken lightly. ILSR offered these comments to the MN Public Utilities Commission in February 2018 about preserving high values for the state’s “value of solar” calculation.… Read More

New Study: Local Renewable Energy Offers Low-Cost Path to Clean Grid

Date: 2 Jan 2018 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

In a landmark study of Minnesota’s electric grid, the Smarter Grid study found that it’s cost-effective to replace fossil fuel energy sources with wind and solar to dramatically lower carbon pollution from electricity generation. But within this bigger finding was a jewel: the local strategy––maximizing distributed energy resources––saves customers (nearly) the most money. The secret was … Read More

Paying Utilities for Performance

Date: 22 Dec 2017 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

In most states with regulated, monopoly utilities, utilities are compensation based on two factors: energy sales and a return on capital spent, such as when they build a new power plant. In comments filed in late December, 2017, ILSR provides some context for basing utility compensation for its shareholders on actual performance.… Read More

Boulder Voters Say (Again): “We’ll Lead Movement to Energy Democracy”

Date: 21 Nov 2017 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

It was a squeaker. With 85% of votes cast, the outlook for Boulder’s quest to control its energy future seemed dimmer than it had since 2011. The nays were up by 100 votes, in favor of ending funding for the city’s effort to take over its electric utility and bolster locally-produced renewable energy. A late night … Read More

Mergers and Monopoly: How Concentration Changes the Electricity Business

Date: 31 Oct 2017 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

A wave of consolidation has swept across the U.S. economy over the past decade, reshaping already-powerful corporations into financial and political powerhouses. The trend has taken particular hold among electric utilities, a sector where monopoly reigns virtually unchecked.

Consolidated, investor-owned utilities now have service territories that span several states and include millions of customers. They say gobbling competitors delivers operational efficiencies and cost savings. But who sees the benefits? And what are the unspoken costs?

This report explains how concentration of power in monopoly utilities delivers fewer customer benefits than alleged, and how the unmentioned costs of concentrating power in a few firms undermines protection of the public interest.… Read More

PURPA: A Quiet Death or Longer Life After 40 Years of Wholesale Electricity Competition?

Date: 27 Sep 2017 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States, Media Coverage | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

ILSR’s John Farrell writes this commentary for Greentech Media on the current attacks that are coming in on all sides on the PURPA law that enables local energy production. Check it out:… Read More

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