Energy Biz - September/October 2008 - (Page 50) EnErgyBiz Teco Energy has just filed its first rate case since 1992. r aMiL It’s been a while. If you just look at the various proposals in Congress, you hear predictions of as much as a 50 percent increase — even more — in the price of electricity from these carbon controls. When you add on the cost of commodities, everything is lining up for increased costs of all sources of energy. rOgErs We’ve come off a decade and a half where the real price of electricity has actually fallen. Just take natural gas; 58 percent of the homes in this country are heated with natural proposed in North Carolina is that we view the rooftops of our customers as plant sites. What we want to do is to invest, install, maintain, operate and dispatch solar on the rooftop. We’re going to roll it into our system supply and subsidize it effectively. EnErgyBiz l eadershiP roundtabl es There’s going to be a tremendous push back from our customers about the fact that prices are going to go up. When will solar be competitive with other generation? rOgErs With the law of large numbers, demand will pull the price down. Fifty percent of the cost of solar on the rooftop comes from the cost of installation. If we could cut the cost of installation because we have the trucks, the Patricia Vincent-Collawn PNM Resources, president, Utilities workforce, the relationship with the customers, then we have the ability to really drive that cost down and make it more competitive. That investment will be a rate base investment and we will average it in with the cost of our coal, nuclear and gas. gas. That price in the last decade has gone from $2.50 to $12 to $13 per thousand cubic feet. Look at how much the price of gasoline has gone up in the last year. Ours is the only product where the price hasn’t really gone up at all. But we’re right on the edge of seeing a real significant rise in price. r aTcLiFFE Nobody likes to raise prices at the levels that we’re talking about. There’s going to be a tremendous push back from our customers about the fact that prices are going to go up. EnErgyBiz John, would it work in Philadelphia? rOwE Yes, it would work in Philadelphia. According to one study, we’ll get from today’s 40 to 50 cents John Rowe Exelon, chairman, president and chief executive officer EnErgyBiz Do most of you have trouble a kilowatt-hour for convincing regulators that you need new solar to around 20 financial incentives to promote energy efficiency? cents in the next five to 10 years. It will start to have a yackir a We get a 5 percent adder on our return on distinct affect on one’s planning. It won’t be competiequity on anything that we do that’s related to conservative head to head with the wholesale market, but to the tion, so it’s very beneficial for us. customer, it will look competitive. In that five to 10 year r aMiL The Florida legislature just took a step in the right period you’ll see a significant increase. direction this year. They passed an energy bill, and in it they provide a higher ROE if you meet a certain percentage EnErgyBiz What about concentrated solar thermal of your energy growth through conservation initiatives. technology? gOODin We’re not seeing any formal plans in the upper VincEnT- cOLL awn We think that’s very promising. We Midwest for decoupling. The smaller states can possibly be a enjoy 320 days of sunshine a year in New Mexico. From little more nimble in this process and a little more proactive. a psychographic standpoint, solar is really top of mind for our customers and our regulators. One thing about solar EnErgyBiz What is the future of solar power? is that the lead times are a lot shorter than with a new rOgErs Solar ought to be part of our mix. What we nuclear, gas or coal plant. 50 E n E rgyB i z September/October 2008
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