Show Filters

Top Results

Article

The Core Elements of Your Shared Services Data Protection Program

May 15, 2017

This is the third article of a three-part series on data protection for shared services. To view additional articles in the series, please see below.


Continue reading

Building the Foundation for Your Shared Services Data Protection Program

May 15, 2017

This is the second article of a three-part series on data protection for shared services. To view additional articles in the series, please see below.


Continue reading

Data Loss Risk Awareness

May 15, 2017

This article is the first article of a three-part series focused on data protection for shared services. To access additional articles in the series, please see below.


Continue reading

Regulatory and Legislative Changes Affecting Rate-Case Strategies

February 1, 2017

In 2017, Rick Starkweather, partner at ScottMadden, developed a research article titled, “Regulatory and Legislative Changes Affecting Rate-Case Strategies.” The article is featured in the February 2017 edition of the Natural Gas & Electricity Journal, a publication available through the Wiley Online Library; which is one of the largest and most authoritative collections of online journals, books, and research resources.


Continue reading

Proactive Solutions to Curtailment Risk: Identifying New Contract Structures for Utility-Scale Renewables

January 30, 2017

The Hawaiian Electric Companies face a unique risk with regards to curtailment of utility-scale wind and solar projects due to the high penetration of distributed solar on their system. Historically, curtailment has been done in “reverse chronological order”, meaning the oldest (and, often, most expensive) projects are the least likely to be curtailed. This structure is not sustainable over the long term, as higher and higher curtailment risk will necessarily
Continue reading

Enhancing Cybersecurity: A Briefing for Public Power

December 19, 2016

Public power plays a vital role in how our world is connected today, thanks to a sustained technological evolution. The use of complex systems to manage public power infrastructure and share tremendous amounts of data has improved operations and customer response times. At the same token, there has been a significant increase in cyberattacks that threaten infrastructures, despite the benefits of these technologies: it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with the real and growing danger of cyberattacks. System vulnerabilities can expose operations and customers to significant risks. Public power generation community members have a special responsibility and must implement procedures and advanced technology to secure the infrastructure to prevent cyberattacks and mitigate their impact.


Continue reading

Four Strategic Priorities for Public Power

November 10, 2016

Since the construction of the first central power plant in the United States in the late 19th century, public power have played a crucial role in the electrification of communities and the overall growth of the electric power industry. Throughout the rapid expansion of the mid-20th century, public power remained focused on providing reliable and cost-effective service to under-served areas with a member-first mentality and the assistance of federally supported loans.


Continue reading

NARUC Joins the Debate on DERs

October 18, 2016

Traditional utility business models and regulatory frameworks were built on the assumption that the utility would act as the “sole source provider” of electricity to meet the demands of customers across its entire service territory. Though their impacts vary based on location, Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) are rapidly changing this as a given. This changing landscape has placed utilities and regulators in unchartered territory.


Continue reading

Clean Power Plan Gets Its Day in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit

October 12, 2016

The recent en banc hearing regarding the validity of the Clean Power Plan (CPP) had each side of the argument claiming a likely favorable disposition for their side. The judges asked tough questions of both sides in oral argument, originally scheduled for three and a half hours, but lasting nearly seven hours.


Continue reading

Texas Solar Two Step: Different Outcomes in State’s Two Distinct Markets

October 12, 2016

Wholesale and retail deregulation in Texas has created two distinct market structures, but only one currently encourages solar development. Solar has rapidly expanded in the territories of municipal and cooperative utilities. These utilities are overwhelmingly exempt from retail deregulation and can take a holistic view. Consequently, municipal and cooperative utilities are providing innovative solar solutions to customers who want options and not simply low-cost, reliable power from any source.


Continue reading

UMMBC Series

September 26, 2016

ScottMadden is a founding member of the Utility Materials Management Benchmarking Consortium (UMMBC) and has been conducting independent research studies on behalf of the consortium since 2007. Leveraging data from the UMMBC 2015 Warehouse Survey, ScottMadden examined whether more on-site material actually improves material availability, whether material availability (inventory stockout rates) impacts operating performance and to what degree, and which drivers contributed most to higher staffing requirements and offers thoughts on a unique analysis to model quantifiable factors that contribute to generation inventory levels.


Continue reading

Divergent: When Your Chosen Technology Presents a Mismatch to a Company’s Culture and Structure

September 21, 2016

The latest cloud-based HR technologies provide attractive tools when your organization is seeking greater process efficiency, automation, and analytics. All of these features can support the needs of a growing organization seeking strategic opportunities.

But what do you do when the requirements and process for implementing these tools conflict with your company’s culture or legacy practices?  In this article, we examine challenges to consider when implementing Human Resources Management Systems (HRMS) and tactics to overcome these challenges.

Welcome to ScottMadden!

Sussex Economic Advisors is now part of ScottMadden. We invite you to learn more about our expanded firm. Please use the Contact Us form to request additional information.