Around the world, liberalization and privatization in the electricity industry have lead to increased competition among utilities. At the same time, utilities are now exposed more than ever to risk and uncertainties, which they cannot pass on to their customers through price increases as in a regulated environment. Especially electricity-generating companies have to face volatile wholesale prices, fuel price uncertainty, limited long-term hedging possibilities and huge, to a large extent, sunk investments. In this context, Uncertainty in the Electric Power Industry: Methods and Models for Decision Support aims at an integrative view on the decision problems that power companies have to tackle. It systematically examines the uncertainties power companies are facing and develops models to describe them - including an innovative approach combining fundamental and finance models for price modeling. The optimization of generation and trading portfolios under uncertainty is discussed with particular focus on CHP and is linked to risk management. Here the concept of integral earnings at risk is developed to provide a theoretically sound combination of value at risk and profit at risk approaches, adapted to real market structures and market liquidity. Also methods for supporting long-term investment decisions are presented: technology assessment based on experience curves and operation simulation for fuel cells and a real options approach with endogenous electricity prices.

The electric power industry is undergoing the greatest transformation in its 100-year history. In readable, concise fashion, author Denise Warkentin explains how the electric industry works and what changes are in store. After briefly tracing the history of the industry, she details how different segments are structured and work together. Investor-owned, consumer-owned, and government-owned utilities are explained, as are rural cooperatives and independent power producers. Other issues addressed include deregulation, the emergence of energy marketers, and the impact of ongoing mergers, acquisitions, and consolidations.

How the interplay between government regulation and the private sector has shaped the electric industry, from its nineteenth-century origins to twenty-first-century market restructuring. For more than a century, the interplay between private, investor-owned electric utilities and government regulators has shaped the electric power industry in the United States. Provision of an essential service to largely dependent consumers invited government oversight and ever more sophisticated market intervention. The industry has sought to manage, co-opt, and profit from government regulation. In The Power Brokers, Jeremiah Lambert maps this complex interaction from the late nineteenth century to the present day. Lambert's narrative focuses on seven important industry players: Samuel Insull, the principal industry architect and prime mover; David Lilienthal, chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), who waged a desperate battle for market share; Don Hodel, who presided over the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) in its failed attempt to launch a multi-plant nuclear power program; Paul Joskow, the MIT economics professor who foresaw a restructured and competitive electric power industry; Enron's Ken Lay, master of political influence and market-rigging; Amory Lovins, a pioneer proponent of sustainable power; and Jim Rogers, head of Duke Energy, a giant coal-fired utility threatened by decarbonization. Lambert tells how Insull built an empire in a regulatory vacuum, and how the government entered the electricity marketplace by making cheap hydropower available through the TVA. He describes the failed overreach of the BPA, the rise of competitive electricity markets, Enron's market manipulation, Lovins's radical vision of a decentralized industry powered by renewables, and Rogers's remarkable effort to influence cap-and-trade legislation. Lambert shows how the power industry has sought to use regulatory change to preserve or secure market dominance and how rogue players have gamed imperfectly restructured electricity markets. Integrating regulation and competition in this industry has proven a difficult experiment.

Featuring contributions from worldwide leaders in the field, the carefully crafted Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution, Third Edition (part of the five-volume set, The Electric Power Engineering Handbook) provides convenient access to detailed information on a diverse array of power engineering topics. Updates to nearly every chapter keep this book at the forefront of developments in modern power systems, reflecting international standards, practices, and technologies. Topics covered include: Electric power generation: nonconventional methods Electric power generation: conventional methods Transmission system Distribution systems Electric power utilization Power quality L.L. Grigsby, a respected and accomplished authority in power engineering, and section editors Saifur Rahman, Rama Ramakumar, George Karady, Bill Kersting, Andrew Hanson, and Mark Halpin present substantially new and revised material, giving readers up-to-date information on core areas. These include advanced energy technologies, distributed utilities, load characterization and modeling, and power quality issues such as power system harmonics, voltage sags, and power quality monitoring. With six new and 16 fully revised chapters, the book supplies a high level of detail and, more importantly, a tutorial style of writing and use of photographs and graphics to help the reader understand the material. New chapters cover: Water Transmission Line Reliability Methods High Voltage Direct Current Transmission System Advanced Technology High-Temperature Conduction Distribution Short-Circuit Protection Linear Electric Motors A volume in the Electric Power Engineering Handbook, Third Edition. Other volumes in the set: K12648 Power Systems, Third Edition (ISBN: 9781439856338) K13917 Power System Stability and Control, Third Edition (ISBN: 9781439883204) K12650 Electric Power Substations Engineering, Third Edition (ISBN: 9781439856383) K12643 Electric Power Transformer Engineering, Third Edition (ISBN: 9781439856291)

Unlike more technical texts stuffed with formulae and theories, this book explains in plain English how power is created and replaces formulae with everyday examples and easy-to-understand illustrations. It opens with an explanation of how electricity is generated, then covers the planning and development of electric power stations, emphasizing modern considerations of merchant power plants, repowering, and the growth of gas turbine generation. The "facts" of generation are covered in part two--boilers, turbines, generators, hydro and pumped storage, and "alternative" generations sources, suchs geothermal, tidal, solar, and wind. Maintenance and operations are covered in basic overview format. Finally, environmental considerations--again, an increasing concern in light of deregulation and environmental law--are reviewed. In addition, the authors cover specific features and fuel-types in nontechnical terms. Industry newcomers will appreciate this clear explanation of how power is created.

An essential overview of post-deregulation market operations inelectrical power systems Until recently the U.S. electricity industry was dominated byvertically integrated utilities. It is now evolving into adistributive and competitive market driven by market forces andincreased competition. With electricity amounting to a $200 billionper year market in the United States, the implications of thisrestructuring will naturally affect the rest of the world. Why is restructuring necessary? What are the components ofrestructuring? How is the new structure different from the oldmonopoly? How are the participants strategizing their options tomaximize their revenues? What are the market risks and how are theyevaluated? How are interchange transactions analyzed and approved?Starting with a background sketch of the industry, this hands-onreference provides insights into the new trends in power systemsoperation and control, and highlights advanced issues in thefield. Written for both technical and nontechnical professionals involvedin power engineering, finance, and marketing, this must-haveresource discusses: * Market structure and operation of electric power systems * Load and price forecasting and arbitrage * Price-based unit commitment and security constrained unitcommitment * Market power analysis and game theory applications * Ancillary services auction market design * Transmission pricing and congestion Using real-world case studies, this timely survey offers engineers,consultants, researchers, financial managers, university professorsand students, and other professionals in the industry acomprehensive review of electricity restructuring and how itsradical effects will shape the market.