I work on better utility regulation at The Future of Heat Initiative.
Joined June 2011
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We’ve spent the last decade debating what utilities should build. We forgot to ask whether anyone can actually regulate them.
@JamieFoHI and I on "State Capacity" and rising energy bills.
basedrates.substack.com/p/ri…
It's a good sign, but IMO the more sustainable/thoughtful route will be for state energy offices to intervene (on behalf of state policy priorities).
[credit to Marissa Gillett who has spoken up about this]
Mike Bloomberg retweeted
Yesterday the Telegraph reported on my comments about air conditioning.
The comment section is quite something. I have apparently become a hero of the anti net zero crowd by saying something what I think is sensible about air con.
Allow me to point out three ironies in this 🧵
Travis is a brilliant former regulator who knows his stuff. I don’t know if “this is the way” but I know there’s a lot to learn and think about from reading it.
Out today: My @AmericanAffrs essay trying to reset the often-fever-pitched conversation about data centers & energy, with concrete ideas for how growth can be accelerated and legacy consumers can be protected -->
Let the games begin... Today, a Constellation-commissioned analysis dropped making the case for the Everett Marine Terminal LNG facility. While Enbridge issued an Open Season Notice for 'Project Beacon' timed to come online in Nov. '30, just as the current EMT contracts expire...
Enbridge notice - infopost.enbridge.com/GotoLI…
Constellation / Levitan study - levitan.com/publications/Eve…
Mike Bloomberg retweeted
Top large cities (min. 100k) by % of housing units built before 1939:
Buffalo, NY (61%)
St. Louis, MO (58%)
Providence, RI (55%)
Rochester, NY (54%)
New Bedford, MA (52%)
Cleveland, OH (49%)
Pittsburgh, PA (48%)
Cambridge, MA (47%)
Boston, MA (47%)
Berkeley, CA (46%)
Another incredibly dumb data centers x energy use post going viral. Steve should know better, but fault is ultimately with the Bloomberg Opinion editors who use a GLOBAL data chart when speaking about the United States.
It also flags the very stark differences in managing the energy demands of data centers vs cooking, heating, and EVs. The former being a large concentrated load, the latter diffuse.
The Future of Heat Initiative is hiring for a Regulatory Counsel to work with @JamieFoHI and Justin Gundlach on effective utility regulation. Ideal position for someone who would like their next gig to be that of a PUC commissioner or Consumer Advocate.
static1.squarespace.com/stat…
I was going to ignore this but since it got so much traction. This report is so dumb and @SPGlobal should be ashamed. They are mixing and matching aggregate state-level averages with hyper-localized effects.
"Data center expansion is not currently the predominant driver of increased electricity prices in U.S. states"
spglobal.com/ratings/en/regu…
At least the report acknowledges that current prices don't yet reflect full demand impacts, that surplus generation capacity masking costs is already eroding, and that PJM capacity auction costs jumped from $2.5 billion to over $16 billion in a single cycle.
I too have had hummus thrown away by TSA. @RalphNader Please include my in any class action suit. Thank you.
Today, the notoriously picky TSA at Bradley Airport in Connecticut confiscated a container of fresh hummus. "Hummus?! Why?" asked the traveler. "Hummus is not a mysterious liquid. It’s a nutritious popular vegetable!"
"Doesn’t matter," was the rejoinder. "Either leave the line with it or it goes into the garbage."
So now add hummus to the list of national security perils. Maybe ground broccoli will be next.
Absurdity reigns! -R
