Insight

A year into a new presidential administration and the feared collapse of the world financial system, business has regained its footing and the world economy appears to be rebounding.  Uncertainty over the pace and durability of recovery, an expanding ...

Many companies successfully passed their initial NERC audits; however, both NERC and FERC have indicated that the standard is being raised with regard to what constitutes compliance and the evidence that will be required to demonstrate it.  Organizati...

Rate case drivers, which had been down several years ago, have now increased significantly.  Utilities that had gone many years without a rate filing are now finding that more complex filings are required more frequently.  In summary, rate cases ...

ScottMadden recently conducted surveys on utility inventory optimization practices and performance, and global trends on utility inventory strategies. The surveys were conducted under the auspices of both the Utility Materials Management Benchmarking ...

ScottMadden has analyzed the unprecedented stimulus funding granted to our industry.  Please see our profile of who got the money, how much they got, where it will be spent, and on what.

During the worst of the financial meltdown of 2008-09, utility stock prices benefited from a flight to their relatively steady returns.  However, many uncertainties and some unfavorable trends weigh upon their outlook.  In an article in the Septe...

Many LDCs operate with a traditional utility mindset, and often have culture and investments steeped in the legacy of a 100+ year old company, making it difficult to address challenges of attrition, volatile commodity prices, uncertain demand, shrinking ma...

The Department of Energy (DOE) issued two Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) in late July.   One funding opportunity for large transmission projects (FOA-132) was multi-phased but had only one due date for initial applications: September ...