Policy Review

Examination of recent policy and regulatory initiatives

• Towards an Internal EU Electricity Market: EGREG brings out guidelines on CACM

  November 1, 2010
  The European Union (EU) has repeatedly emphasised the importance of a robust interconnected transmission infrastructure in developing a single internal electricity market.

• Meeting UK's renewable goals: Ofgem reviews transmission charging

  October 1, 2010
  Will the UK be able to achieve its ambitious target of meeting 15 per cent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2020? The answer depends on how rapidly it is...

• Case for Energy Storage: California surges ahead with legislation

  September 1, 2010
  California, it appears, is pursuing the most aggressive carbon policy in the US. The state's law stipulates a 20 per cent renewable portfolio standard to be achieved by 2010.

• India's New Pricing Regulations: Right signals for network expansion

  August 1, 2010
  During the last one year, transmission pricing and tariffs have been topics of serious debate and discussion in the Indian power sector. This culminated in the passage...

• Europe's Renewable Energy Ambitions: Financial crisis playing spoilsport?

  July 1, 2010
  A European Commission directive binds the member states into meeting 20 per cent of their final energy consumption through renewable energy sources by 2020.

• ACER: A step forward in EU's energy regulation framework

  June 1, 2010
  One of the focal elements of European Union's (EU) Third Energy Package of 2009 - the unbundling of some of the most reluctant energy giants - is already evolving.

• International Energy Regulators' Cooperation: Regulatory best practices

  May 1, 2010
  A quiet development in the latter half of 2009 has the potential to influence electricity transmission and the regulatory structure that underpins it. This was the formation of the...

• Building New Transmission: Who bears the cost?

  April 1, 2010
  “Who pays?” This is the controversial question that dominates policy debates over transmission expansion in the US. The issue has assumed greater significance as more renewable...

• Transmission Project Approval in Alberta: Lacks confidence in regulatory process

  March 1, 2010
  When and how should a government intervene when the perceived lack of investment in adequate transmission infrastructure is hampering economic or other policy goals?

• Long-term sustainable energy supplies: UK reviews policy and regulatory options

  February 1, 2010
  The energy markets of the UK have for long been held to be a model of successful liberalisation and much of the credit goes to the nimble power and gas regulator Ofgem...

• Global Winds of Change: Power grids face a whole new set of rules

  January 1, 2010
  Electric power transmission grids, once considered to be a staid and low-risk business with no uncertainties, are currently in the midst of several changes.

• American Transmission Expansion: Siting and Permitting Major Reliability Concerns

  December 1, 2009
  The Long-Term Reliability Assessment Report 2009 by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) ranks the construction of the much needed transmission infrastructure...

• Brazil's Transmission Sector: Regulatory framework ensures investments

  November 1, 2009
  Brazil's transmission network is set to expand further with the second auction of the year for the construction of transmission lines scheduled to be held on November 27, 2009.

• Australian Electricity Market: Reliability in uncertain times

  October 1, 2009
  The Australian energy market is gearing up its regulatory and market processes to prepare for the ensuing summer, though the proposed regulatory mechanism seems to be getting...

• German Electricity Grid: Structural shifts realign market

  September 1, 2009
  The German electricity market is currently at the centre of a raging debate on the future of its transmission system. On one side of the fence are the owners of vertically...

• Transmission Superhighway for Climate Security: Europe to import solar power

  August 1, 2009
  The idea of using deserts for generating solar power is a really old concept which failed to take off because there was no economically or commercially available technology...

• A Paradigm Shift: India mulls new price allocation method for transmission

  July 1, 2009
  If India's federal electricity regulator has its way, the country's electricity grid will become more competitive and efficient by the end of this year. In May 2009, the Central...

• Bigger Role for FERC: Greater transmission siting authority proposed under a new bill

  June 1, 2009
  A new bill to vest greater authority with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) of the US for siting transmission lines has generated a lot of debate.

• Congestion Management: Key to integrated electricity markets

  May 8, 2009
  With increasing liberalisation of power markets, there is greater incentive for power to be transmitted across regions, taking advantage of price differences in various markets...

• Demand Response: Effective tool for grid planning and reliability [free access]

  April 1, 2009
  Demand response (DR) has long held the promise of cost effective management of load growth and transmission congestion, thereby leading to improved grid reliability...