Utility Value Chain
What materials generate most of the US energy?
1. Fossil Fuels
2. Nuclear Energy
3. Renewables are Small but Growing
Why are utilities considered natural monopolies?
•High Infrastructure costs
•Limited competition
•Unnecessary to have duplicate property lines
True or False:
Traditional Rates push an incentive for efficiency and innovation.
False Utilities do not have an incentive for efficiency or innovation because they’re paid based on how much electricity is used
What approach allows businesses to build from scratch (without influence from politics or bias)?
ZBx or Zero-Based Analysis
Rather than continue with the legacy experience, ZBx evaluates costs with no prior experience and establishes financial forecasts
Hamilton
Who wrote the musical Hamilton (now streaming on Disney+)?
Lin – Manuel Miranda
He was inspired to write about Alexander Hamilton’s life after reading historian, Ron Chernow’s, book
Once electricity is produced, when must it be consumed?
INSTANTLY!
Supply & Demand must be balanced in real time
What utility model is vertically integrated?
Regulated... They do NOT provide choice to the customer, focus on capitalized cost
Where do Traditional Rates earn their revenue?
Electricity Sold
Good news when it’s a hot summer and electricity usage is up, bad news when we’re in a pandemic and commercial usage has shrunk
What approach identifies processes and capabilities through classifying activities by value?
PVC or Prime Value Chain
This framework helps to inform investment decisions, capital allocations, and personal allocations
Civil Rights Legends
The world lost two civil rights icons last week. Who were they (name at leas 1 of 2)?
John Lewis – He was the last surviving speaker from the 1963 March on Washington
C.T.Vivian – Helped MLK organize sit-ins and marches
Both received Presidential Medals of Freedom
Transmission infrastructure can be owned/maintained by the utilities OR by who?
ISO or Independent System Operators
What private enterprise acts as a public utility?
IOUs or Investor Owned Utility
They focus on wholesale buying, transmission, and distribution
What rate allows the utility to collect revenue for commodity sales SEPARATE from infrastructure usage?
Decoupling Rates
Everyone who is attached to the grid pays the same commodity fee which decreases the volatility in customer dependence
What are the three types of Zero-Based Analysis?
1.ZB Budgeting
2.ZB Technology
3.ZB Supply Chain
Mask Requirement
How many states are requiring people to wear masks in public? Answer must be withing +/- 5.
30 States
As of Friday 7/17, 30 states are mandating masks in hopes of slowing down Covid’s spread
Is it True or False that distribution lines are rarely damaged?
False, Lines are commonly damaged resulting in network outages.
What utility model separates generation and retail from transmission and distribution?
De-Regulated
They focus on reducing operating expenses, investing in infrastructure, and growing their customer base
What rate provides additional revenues when meeting outcomes such as greenhouse gas reductions or energy saving targets?
PBR or Performance-Based Rates
This has been popularized by emerging tech, change in customer demand, and public policy goals
PVC focuses on what three areas in a company for improvement?
1.Overlaps/Redundancies
2.Most encountered challenges
3.Fragmented roles and processes
Mars Exploration
What Middle Eastern Country has sent the Hope orbiter to Mars and is the first Mars mission for this country?
United Arab Emirates
This mission is in hopes of finding new information on the red planet for eventual human habitation
Who are the 3 main types of utilities customers?
1.Commercial
2.Residential
3.Industrial
What utilities were created by the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 and are still prevalent in rural areas?
Co-Ops or Cooperatives
Farmers started forming co-ops to bring electricity to communities not covered by IOUs or municipal utilities.
What resource generates small-scale power located close to where the electricity is used (ie: solar panels)?
DER or Distributed Energy Resource
This provides an alternative to or an enhancement of the traditional electric power grid
what are the 2 of the 6 new revenue streams that utilizes must consider to keep pace with our changing world?
1.Energy Supply & Service
2.Efficiency & Resilience
3.DER & Renewables
4.Smart City & Infrastructure
5.EV & Transportation
6.Lifestyle & Bus Services
Highest Grossing Movie
What is the highest grossing movie of all time coming in at $2.798 Billion?
Avengers Endgame
It dethroned 2009’s Avatar by only $8 Million after Marvel/Disney’s rerelease of the film with additional end credit scenes in its 13th week