Description
Most people—including many legislators, regulators, and other decision makers in the electric utility industry—have misconceptions about how electric utilities really "work" and plan for the future. This lack of understanding can lead to poorly informed decisions and policies that directly affect the choices utilities must make.Using easy-to-understand text and examples, Electric Utility Resource Planning: Economics, Reliability, and Decision-Making clarifies how utilities operate their systems and prepare for the future. This explanation will show readers that both expected and counterintuitive results can occur (i.e., conservation might result in higher air emissions, or lowering costs could lead to higher electric rates).Taking readers step by step through this process, the book (in the following order):"Creates" a hypothetical utilityExplains how and why a utility operates its system of generating units Discusses the planning methods that a utility would (or should) useGuides readers through each stage of a planning analysis for the hypothetical utility, examining various resource options (conservation, new power plants, and solar)In addition, the author introduces four Fundamental Principles of Resource Planning that should guide utilities. He also offers opinions on how certain trends in utility regulation and legislation can hinder utility planners’ efforts to identify and select the best resources for the utility’s customers.With this book, author Dr. Steven Sim applies his experience and insights from more than two decades of resource planning for Florida Power and Light (FPL). As one of the largest utilities in the United States, FPL has faced a multitude of resource planning challenges, and Dr. Sim has performed and supervised thousands of analyses designed to meet these obstacles. He has also served as an FPL witness in regulatory hearings on a wide variety of topics, ranging from the economic implications of nuclear, conservation, coal, gas, and other resource options, to the non-economic impacts (air emissions, fuel usage, system reliability, etc.) they present.Table of ContentIntroduction. How Does an Electric Utility Actually "Work"? Overview of Utility Resource Planning. Reliability Analyses for Our Utility System. Resource Option Analyses for Our Utility System: Supply Options. Resource Option Analyses for Our Utility System: DSM Options. Final Resource Option Analyses for Our Utility System. Are We Done Yet? Other Factors That Can (and Will) Complicate Resource Planning Analyses. Final Thoughts (Including Some Opinions). Appendices.Biographical NoteDr. Steven Sim has worked in the field of energy analysis since the mid-1970s. After graduating from the University of Miami, Florida, with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mathematics in 1973 and 1975, respectively, he earned a doctorate in environmental science and engineering from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1979, with an emphasis on energy. That year, Dr. Sim joined Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, Inc. and one of the largest electric utilities in the United States. Since then, he has conducted, supervised, and/or collaborated on thousands of analyses designed to examine how FPL can best serve its customers given changing circumstances, laws, and regulations.
