Forbes recently published an article entitled “Natural Gas Harms U.S. Economy And Won’t Solve Rising Electricity Demand,” criticizing the cost and construction times of new natural gas generation and suggesting energy investments be focused on non-dispatchable sources like solar. What this piece fails to take seriously is the magnitude of the energy crisis facing Americans today and the dangers of putting all our eggs in the renewables basket.
Read MoreA column published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch by Neil Amin, CEO of Shamin Hotels, emphasizes the critical need for reliable, affordable electricity for businesses across Virginia. .
“For more than 40 years, my family has operated a business that never sleeps. From the front desk and the guest services to the housekeeping and the kitchen and conference rooms, Shamin Hotels runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And every part of that operation depends on one thing most people take for granted — reliable electricity…” writes Amin. “Just one outage can damage our revenue, our reputation and the trust we’ve worked so hard to earn and keep. And in hospitality, trust is everything.”
Read MoreAs the federal government explores ways to boost electricity supply for America’s growing data and AI economy, some are advocating for more “competition” through utility deregulation. But as economist Ed Hirs argues in The Hill, this approach is deeply flawed—and the data backs him up.
Read MoreData centers are driving a massive surge in electricity demand across the U.S. and well-regulated, vertically integrated utilities are proving better equipped than their deregulated counterparts to handle it. Further, data centers are more interested in working with regulated utilities to develop projects because of these utilities’ commitment to serve customers, willingness to develop just and reasonable pricing, and consistent and practical interconnection requirements, according to a new report from Wood Mackenzie.
Read MoreSomething is broken in the wholesale markets. And finally, a group of bipartisan governors are calling it out.
The New York Times just laid bare what many of us have warned for years: PJM, the largest grid operator in the U.S.,has become a poster child for how deregulated energy markets fail the public. Bills are skyrocketing. Power plants are retiring faster than replacements are coming online. Promising clean energy projects are stalled in bureaucracy. And worst of all, no one—not even elected governors—seems to have real oversight.
Read MoreIn its formal comments, Power for Tomorrow warns that in the electric sector, promoting competition simply for its own sake risks undermining the Task Force’s stated goals. In fact, many of the states that embraced deregulated “open markets” are now grappling with the highest energy costs and least reliable service.
Read MoreBig news out of Louisiana: Hyundai has announced plans to build a $5 billion steel plant in the state. One key reason cited for the move stands out: Louisiana’s low-cost natural gas and electricity.
This isn’t a fluke—it’s part of a broader trend.
Read MoreIn a letter sent to Arkansas legislators, Power for Tomorrow Executive Director Gary Meltz, expresses support for Senate Bill 307.
“We back SB307 because it will increase investment in the state’s electric grid, protect Arkansas customers from high power bills, and attract large-scale business investment to the state."
Read MoreMassachusetts regulators are calling for a major overhaul of the state’s competitive electricity market after years of deceptive marketing, skyrocketing prices, and financial losses—particularly for low-income residents. The Department of Public Utilities (DPU) has launched multiple investigations over the past decade, culminating in a new push for a "market reset" to better protect consumers.
Read MoreIn today’s complex energy landscape, soaring demand is strained by a limited supply of reliable, always-available energy, making it challenging to ensure a resilient grid that delivers power where it’s needed, when it’s needed. Policymakers across the country are tasked with encouraging and signaling the construction of new infrastructure to address existing and future demand. The success of our national goal of energy dominance hinges on our ability to meet the growing power requirements of data centers, AI, and a manufacturing reshoring renaissance, all while keeping energy prices reasonable for consumers.
Read MoreAcross the Southeast, an ever-increasing number of corporations are investing in building large-scale facilities. Key reasons for this economic development are sensible utility regulation and adequate electricity supply in the region. Effective electricity oversight enables utilities and regulators to work together to fully meet our growing energy needs.
Read MoreIn letters to Virginia and South Carolina legislators, PFT writes, “Bipartisan collaboration will be essential to addressing these challenges. Reaching consensus on strategies to expand energy capacity, adopt a balanced energy approach, and ensure a stable, reliable power supply will be crucial to our future.”
Read MoreIn case you were under the impression that the failure of electricity deregulation is an exclusively American phenomena, you need look no further than to our northern neighbors. Alberta is the one Canadian province that most fully adopted Texas-style electricity deregulation, and like Texas, its electricity prices are surging - up 128%. Customer bills have spiked dramatically. Alberta now has by far the highest electricity prices of any province in Canada.
Read MoreWhile some may continue to proselytize their preferred, though struggling, market model; it is properly regulated utilities that will be the ones most likely to plan, finance and construct new energy resources in a way that consumers and voters will accept. No amount of glossing over the problems of our power markets will change that fact.
Read MoreNothing to see here…the E-mail below from ERCOT’s Emergency Alert system is merely ERCOT behaving the way it was designed to operate. Scarcity of supply drives up prices, and when that doesn’t work, we send out emails begging people to conserve. Just like a real market….wait.
Read MoreThe trend in New England power rates was predictable, just as it has been predictable everywhere else across the country for the past 25 years. Electricity deregulation harms average customers. Volatile wholesale electricity market pricing quickly translates into volatile retail electricity prices paid by customers in deregulated states. It’s been this way since the advent of restructured utilities more than two decades ago, and it won’t change anytime soon. It’s not a random mistake. It’s how utility deregulation is designed.
Read MoreIt’s been a tough run for supporters of retail utility deregulation. Few states in the last 15 years have shown enthusiasm for adopting the model, and the handful of states that did restructure their utilities in the 1990s and early-2000s have been retreating from it in various ways. It’s not hard to see why. When it comes to electricity, customers care most about reliability, affordability, and consumer protection. Unfortunately, retail deregulation has failed to deliver in these areas.
Against that backdrop, retail deregulation supporters havereleased a new paperthat purports to show the benefits of deregulation. But it is a swing—and a miss.
Read MorePower for Tomorrow wishes all participants in this month’s NARUC Summer Policy Summit an enjoyable visit to Austin. But with ERCOT setting a new demand record of 80,828 MW in June amid 19,000 MW of unplanned firm and renewable outages, and with Texas policy makers yet to address the fundamental flaws in deregulation that have led to the state’s recent electricity woes, we also want to make sure all attendees have the tools they need to stay safe.
Read MoreTwo years after Winter Storm Uri caused blackouts and hundreds of deaths across Texas, it is becoming harder to figure out whether anyone will truly be held accountable for the near-collapse of the power grid—and whether anyone will fix the problems before the next crisis.
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