Advanced Energy Perspectives

It’s no secret that electric vehicles (EVs) are changing the transportation industry. Although they make up a small share of the total vehicles on the market, EVs are pushing innovation, technology, and sales. Last week, EVs got a huge boost from Tesla’s announcement of the Model 3, the affordable EV with a 215-mile range. Tesla’s taking on the world, but is the world prepared for a future driven by EVs?

What are the differences between me and the Energy Information Administration (EIA)? This might be difficult, so I’ll give some hints: One of us is a government agency funded to the tune of $122 million and one of us is a Social Media Manager at AEE. One of us has an Administrator, a Deputy Administrator, four Assistant Administrators, and 16 connected offices tasked with collecting, analyzing, and disseminating independent and impartial energy information to promote sound policymaking, efficient markets, and public understanding of energy, and one of us has a mug with a panda on it (see photo). But the main difference between me and the EIA? I have no trouble admitting when I’m wrong. For EIA, on the other hand, a full-throated confession of error seems harder to come by.

This week we saw a small change that may mark a major shift in thinking about energy, as well as some utility wheeling and dealing. Strap in, it’s time for Friday’s news round up!

Two weeks ago, we speculated that America’s utility merger madness may have stalled out.

Here at Advanced Energy Perspectives, we’ve long known that sustainability is a growing priority for major corporations. Fortune 500 companies understand that energy is a part of the cost of doing business, and now with an array new tools from advanced energy companies, it’s an operating expense that’s no longer out of their control. This week, we saw further assurance of that change in corporate structure, specifically with AEE member Microsoft.

Forget March Madness – here at Advanced Energy Perspectives, we’re tracking Merger Madness. In the early days of the build-out of the electrical grid, the utility landscape was ruled by three utility holding companies that controlled almost half of investor-owned utilities across the United States. Last year we asked, “Does merger madness signal the return of the mega-utility?” As public utility commissions across the country consider the outcomes of these mergers, a pattern has emerged: the first attempt at a merger is denied, but the parties are eager for another chance.