Management Matters: Monthly Digest of Insights Shared by Your Peers in the Energy Central Utility Management Group – July 8, 2021

Welcome to the Utility Management Group roundup, Management Matters. As always, your fellow group members are paying close attention to utility management trends and sharing their insights. This month’s selection includes information about RTO risks, ensuring quality as the power grid transforms, and more. Be sure to like and comment on your favorite posts. Happy reading!

Reassessing RTO Risks

Patrick McGarry

Link to original article: https://energycentral.com/c/pip/reassessing-rto-risks

In this article, Patrick McGarry, Senior Director at PCI explores whether we can afford to continue to allow unabated volatility to continue to exist in regional transmission organization (RTO) markets. Using the example of Winter Storm Uri, he addresses several issues, including price caps, budgets, and reliability. He recommends that markets work together to mitigate market uncertainty.  

Goals for the Electrical System of the Future?

Doug Houseman

Link to original article: https://energycentral.com/c/um/goals-electrical-system-future

As the electrical system in the U.S. converts to a multi-way smart grid configuration, some of the goals and principles of the old system may not apply. In this piece, Doug Houseman, Visionary and Innovator in the Utility Industry and Grid Modernization lists 10 items that form the framework of the current system and asks whether they should continue to do so. He touches on issues like universal connection, reliability, resiliency, load, and price.

State and Future of the Power Industry

Hannah Davis  

Link to original article: https://energycentral.com/o/Guidehouse/state-and-future-power-industry

In this post, Hannah Davis, Sr. Research Analyst & Managing Consultant at Guidehouse summarizes a new publication released by Guidehouse in collaboration with Public Utilities Fortnightly, titled 2021 State and Future of the Power Industry. The publication covers effects resulting from the influx of DER installations and clean energy resources, investment in new technologies, and threats — such as cyberattacks, extreme weather events, and operational challenges — to the industry. It also addresses changes in the way the utilities interact with customers.

Driving Forces Towards Electric Power System Evolution

Dr. Amal Khashab

Link to original article: https://energycentral.com/c/pip/driving-forces-towards-electric-power-system-evolution

Given electricity’s ubiquity in modern society, the power system must continue to be safe, secure, clean, sustainable, affordable, equitable, reliable, and resilient. Here, Dr. Amal Khashab, Expert Independent Consultant, Electric Power Systems Engineering explores the ways in which the electricity industry should continue and build upon past successes in these areas despite many changes in the works.

Thanks again for reading this edition of Management Matters! The authors listed above are eager to hear your thoughts and questions, so don’t hesitate to engage them. And if you want your content to be featured in this spot in future issues, be sure to publish your posts within the Utility Management Community.

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