On the heels of Colorado’s new cybersecurity legislation, California has now announced that it has enacted the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018. The legislation provides residents of California the right to: be informed about the personal information that is collected about them; be informed whether their information is sold to third-parties and who those … [Read more...]
Infrastructure and the Economy
With utility infrastructure aging rapidly, reliability of service is threatened. Yet the economy is hurting, unemployment is accelerating, environmental mandates are rising, and the investment portfolios of both seniors and soon-to-retire boomers have fallen dramatically. Everyone agrees change is needed. The question is: how? In every one of these respects, state regulators … [Read more...]
Utility Mergers and Acquisitions: Beating the Odds
Merger and acquisition activity in the U.S. electric utility industry has increased following the 2005 repeal of the Public Utility Holding Company Act (PUHCA). A key question for the industry is not whether M&A will continue, but whether utility executives are prepared to manage effectively the complex regulatory challenges that have evolved. M&A activity is (and … [Read more...]
The Technology Demonstration Center
When a utility undergoes a major transformation - such as adopting new technologies like advanced metering - the costs and time involved require that the changes are accepted and adopted by each of the three major stakeholder groups: regulators, customers and the utility's own employees. A technology demonstration center serves as an important tool for promoting acceptance and … [Read more...]