Lecture 1  Play Video |
Introduction to Energy and Electricity
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Lecture 2  Play Video |
Public Utilities & Rate Regulation: Introduction to Finance and Regulatory Economics
January 24, 2008
In this video lecture, Prof. Steve Weissman discusses the following topics:
- Basic financial concepts
- Basic economics of competitive and monopoly markets
- Introduction to how regulation addresses natural monopoly
- A brief introduction to monopoly and cost of service regulation
- Historical origins, cases, and commentary
- Major players
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Lecture 3  Play Video |
Public Utilities & Rate Regulation: Cost of Service Regulation (Part 1)
January 31, 2008
In this video lecture, Prof. Steve Weissman discusses the following topics:
- The role of a PUC, its organization, duties and procedures
- How regulation works
- Rate base, rate of return and operating expenses
- Judicial review, including the first of the classic cases |
Lecture 4  Play Video |
Public Utilities & Rate Regulation: Cost of Service Regulation (Part 2)
February 7, 2008
In this video lecture, Prof. Steve Weissman discusses the following topics:
- Examples of cases defining the limits of regulatory power
- Rate design exercise that is discussed in this class
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Lecture 5  Play Video |
Public Utilities and Rate Regulation
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Lecture 6  Play Video |
Resource Alternatives: Introduction to Tradition Fuels, and Oil and Hydroelectric Power
February 21, 2008
In this video lecture, Prof. Steve Weissman discusses the choice of fuel for generating electricity. It has significant implications for the environment, the economy, the reliability of power delivery, and national security. After an overview of the fuel choices, Prof. Steve Weissman will discuss oil and hydroelectric power.
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Lecture 7  Play Video |
Resource Alternatives: Coal and Nuclear Power
February 28, 2008
More than half of the electric energy offered to customers in the United States comes from coal-fired plants, and most observers expect these numbers to stay the same for many years to come. Is coal the fuel of the past or the fuel for the future? In this video lecture, Prof. Steve Weissman will also discuss the pluses and minuses of a nuclear power resurgence.
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Lecture 8  Play Video |
Resource Alternatives - Natural Gas: The Future and LNG
March 6, 2008
In this video lecture, Prof. Steve Weissman discusses the resource of natural gas and its regulations.
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Lecture 9  Play Video |
Resource Alternatives - Renewable Energy: The Technologies and the Programs
March 13, 2008
In this video lecture, Prof. Steve Weissman discusses the following topics:
- The types of renewable energy including wind, biomass, landfill gas, photovoltaic, esoteric sources, and energy storage.
- The regulatory and legal strategies for encouraging the implementation of renewable energy options. Regulatory matters including PURPA, stranded benefits under deregulation, System Benefit Charges and Renewables Trust Funds, life cycle costs and emissions, Renewable Portfolio Standards, Renewable Energy Credits, net metering, and tax credits.
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Lecture 10  Play Video |
Demand Side Management: Energy Efficiency
March 20, 2008
In this video lecture, Prof. Steve Weissman discusses the following topics:
- Energy efficiency
- Demand response
- Institutional options for delivery of energy efficiency |
Lecture 11  Play Video |
Performance Based Ratemaking and Decoupling
April 3, 2008
In this video lecture, Prof. Steve Weissman discusses the following topics:
Under traditional ratemaking, utilities generally make higher profits if they sell more power and lose profits as customers become more efficient. Performance-based ratemaking can address the problem of utility disincentives to promote customer energy efficiency by decoupling utility profits from the amount of sales. It also is a mechanism that can encourage beneficial behavior in many areas of utility operation. Also, introduction to integrated resource planning and portfolio planning for the right mix of generation types, transmission and conservation. Portfolio Management (PM) and Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) both constitute planning exercises and present similar issues. PM, a newer term, focuses on a single utility or other load serving entity. IRP can be performed by a state regulator on a system wide, regional or service area basis, or by a utility for its service area.
The original name of this video lecture is: Performance Based Ratemaking and Decoupling, Integrated Resource Planning and Portfolio Planning.
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Lecture 12  Play Video |
Deregulation and Markets: Wholesale Electricity Markets and Retail Competition
April 10, 2008
How do we deal with issues of using market power to manipulate markets? Is antitrust enough? In this video lecture, Prof. Steve Weissman also discusses consumer choice, default service, disclosure and green power and the record so far.
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Lecture 13  Play Video |
Deregulation and Markets: The California and Western Energy Crisis of 2000-2001
April 17, 2008
The original name of this video lecture is: Deregulation and Markets: The California and Western Energy Crisis of 2000-2001, and The Environmental Impacts of Restructuring; and Picking Up the Pieces: Generator Suits, Blackouts, Reliability and Other Experiments.
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Lecture 14  Play Video |
Climate Change, Carbon Markets and Recap and Conclusion
April 24, 2008. |
Lecture 15  Play Video |
Course Review
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