Energy Regulations and the Environment

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

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

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.

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.

March 6, 2008



In this video lecture, Prof. Steve Weissman discusses the resource of natural gas and its regulations.

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.

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.

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.

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.