• White Papers

    Collections Best Practice

    by mThink on May 23, 2005

    Utility bad debt is increasing year-on-year according to market research group Chartwell in its 2004 report, Credit and Collections in the Utility Industry. Chartwell estimates that more than … Read Article

    Electric Generation Capacity: What, Where and Who

    by mThink on May 23, 2005

    The principal driver of energy consumption and demand growth in the United States is increased population. The nation’s population is growing at a rate of approximately 1 percent … Read Article

    Defining Customer Valuation

    by mThink on May 23, 2005

    Most utilities view their interactions with customers – mainly monthly billing and payment – as highly routine, with neither party giving a second thought to the value at … Read Article

    The Hydrogen Economy

    by mThink on May 23, 2005

    The expression “hydrogen economy” is appearing more and more frequently in the headlines and on the bookstands. As recently as February 2005 the governor of Florida unveiled his … Read Article

    Goodbye AMR, Hello AMM

    by mThink on May 23, 2005

    Not long ago, the decision to pursue an automated meter reading (AMR) project was straightforward to describe and quantify. The business case was essentially one of justifying the … Read Article

    On Better Business Intelligence

    by mThink on May 23, 2005

    Utilities are working hard to address new financial control and reporting requirements, making progress on significant cost reduction and revenue enhancement initiatives and improving the management of financial … Read Article

    Exploiting Broadband Over Power Lines

    by mThink on May 23, 2005

    Broadband over power lines (BPL) and power line communications (PLC) are sets of equipment, software and management services that when overlaid on the electric grid provide users with … Read Article

    Q&A: Meter Reading – Past and Future

    by mThink on May 23, 2005

    Q: In 1997, as Puget Sound Power and Light, you merged with Washington Natural Gas and became Puget Sound Energy. Was it then that automated meter reading made … Read Article

    Setting a Course for Growth

    by mThink on May 23, 2005

    Within the next few years, energy and utility companies will be operating in a more disaggregated, multinational industry. The demands of this new market will drive companies to … Read Article

    The New New Grid

    by mThink on May 23, 2005

    Under pressure from four distinct sources – aging assets, growing peak demand, the emergence of new power generation technologies and revenue constraints from regulation and theft – distribution … Read Article

    Re-Evaluating a Core/Noncore Electric Market

    by mThink on May 23, 2005

    It is difficult to discuss or propose a core/noncore market structure without discussing California’s previous retail market restructuring effort. Many academics and others have written papers pointing out … Read Article

    Toward Intelligent Grids

    by mThink on May 23, 2005

    The promise of the intelligent energy grid remains elusive; however, a steady wave of innovation in communication and information technologies, combined with advancement in emerging energy technologies, is … Read Article

    Prioritizing Growth

    by mThink on May 23, 2005

    After years of cost cutting and risk management to bring companies “back to the basics” in response to the market anomalies, reliability issues and regulatory uncertainty of the … Read Article

    Transforming Communication Infrastructure

    by mThink on May 23, 2005

    For a long time the standard point-to-point analog line to a substation was all that was needed in the grid of the past. It worked well for many … Read Article

    Good Energy Policy = Balanced and Diversified

    by mThink on May 23, 2005

    Dear Secretary Bodman: Thank you for your outreach to democrats, former Energy secretaries and Western governors. I represent each of these categories and appreciate the fact that you … Read Article

    The LNG Question

    by mThink on May 23, 2005

    During 2000, natural gas prices in the United States took a longanticipated turn, and market watchers are now waiting (at the time of writing) for mean reversion to … Read Article

    Restructuring as Erosion

    by mThink on May 23, 2005

    Throughout 2005, five anniversaries will mark mileposts in public power’s pursuit to protect electricity consumers and strengthen the value of community ownership of electric utilities. The first is … Read Article

    Putting Performance First

    by mThink on May 23, 2005

    Poor financial performance in 2001-2003 has led utilities to re-examine their management approach. Utilities that are making it out of the slump have implemented new management techniques such … Read Article
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