Phil Carson, columnist for Intelligent Utility Daily, interviews a David O'Brien from Bridge Energy Group on regulatory changes to support grid modernization.
Via Duane Tilden
Join Scoop.it for Free
Share ideas that matter on the social web and experience
the benefits of curating the world's best content.
I don't have a Facebook, a Twitter or a LinkedIn account
Already have an account: Login
Login
Sign up
Discover
Guided Tour
58
Scoop.it Score
58
Visitors
Loading...
Updated
May 17
Created
Mar 26, 2012
Created by
Scoops
16301
Reactions
21657
Edit Tag
Follow
|
Rescooped by SustainOurEarth from Green Energy Technologies & Development onto Sustain Our Earth |
Scoop.it!
Via Duane Tilden
Delete the scoop?
Are you sure you want to delete this scoop?
Yes
No
 Your new post is loading...
Scoop.it!
Everywhere, companies today receive bonus points for going green. In retrospect, is the going green fever in actuality harming the environment instead? Take bio-fuels, for example. They are praised for being biodegradable; however, the use and production of these fuels release more CO2 than fossil fuels. The row crops grown to create bio-fuel lead to higher erosion rates than sod crops. Via Lauren Moss, Susan Davis Cushing Delete the scoop?
Are you sure you want to delete this scoop?
Yes
No
|
The knottiest issue is how to balance risk between ratepayers and shareholders when you look at smart grid investments. [...] We're not going to let ratepayers bear this risk.
It's a conundrum for the industry as a whole. Traditional rate-making methodology is a cost-plus exercise in which the utility gets its investment back plus a rate of return set by regulators. It was established many decades ago and premised on investment in largely stable, known commodities (poles & wires as compared to digital switches and advanced IT).[...]
IU: Which stakeholders could or should drive these sorts of changes?
O'Brien: That is the question, the heart of the matter. [...] I've given this some thought and the best I can come up is that industry—the smart grid industry—could probably do more, along with the investor-owned utilities, to find some way to be more constructively engaged with the regulatory community.