New Ideas For Utility Policy (Idea No. 2)
In my last article, I looked at this question of “dig once” and how it might influence utility affordability and
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Utilities
Can Utilities Be Held Financially Liable For Outages?
In the aftermath of recent power outages that saw as much as 20% of the population of the state of Michigan without power, this article outlines some ideas on what specific things we should be asking about or thinking about in trying to hold utilities accountable.
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The Anatomy of a Power Outage in Michigan
The power went out. Then the ice melted. A few days later, the snow came, and the power went out– again. Now that the snow is gone, what’s next?
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Terrorists Blew Up Power Infrastructure This Weekend. The Media Barely Noticed.
To be fair, there’s a lot of weird stuff going on these days. The wealthiest man in the world, with
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Community Solar: Coming To A Michigan Near You?
DTE and CMS took the unusual step of tag-teaming a new announcement about community solar, a novel model for photovoltaic power generation development, in the Mitten state, where fossil fuels continue to dominate the generation mix.
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Energy Burden: How To Measure? How To Reduce?
Measuring energy burden is relatively straightforward. Figuring out how to create robust metrics for it, though– and how to address it- is much more challenging.
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Better Utility Regulation: How We Can Get Out Of This Mess
Too much regulation restricts innovation. But too little regulation does the same, and this is what we see in the crumbling infrastructure of Michigan, where regulators are asleep at the wheel in the name of a “business-friendly regulatory” environment that, as it turns out, is neither terribly regulatory nor terribly business-friendly.
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The Future Is Electric. Mostly. But It’s Complicated.
Decarbonization is the buzzword du jour in the sustainability movement. Will it make everything more expensive? Maybe– but there are a few caveats to that.
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Solar Power and EV’s, If Your Local Grid Is Up For The Challenge
Power grids are complex things. Understanding the local grid capacity– as visualized by one mapping tool- can help us plan for things like rooftop solar or electric vehicle adoption.
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Consumers Energy: Bests DTE And Even Saves Endangered Turtles
Endangered turtles return to restored wetlands along a new fossil gas pipeline that cuts through mid-Michigan.
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