Session 14: The Future of Alternative Energy after the Oil Bubble
The 2008 recession had an unusually large effect on investor owned utilities, impacting some utilities’ manufacturing sales, others’ residential sales, and some of both for others. The financial crisis also impacted utilities’ ability to access capital. These conditions are easing, but as they do the imposition of a carbon cap and trade system may lead to even larger effects. This panel will discuss how both the 2008 recession and impending carbon mitigation policies will affect the energy industry.
Presentations
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Speakers
Bryan Bezold
Ameren
Moderator
John Caldwell
Edison Electric Institute
Dr. John Caldwell is Director of Economics at the Edison Electric Institute. He has worked in the electric and gas utility industry for over twenty years, first at the Illinois Power Company (now part of Ameren) as a planning engineer, and then at NiSource, where he was involved in the development of long-term forecast models for energy use and peak demand, the introduction of innovative alternative rate designs, such as negotiated rate, fixed price, and fixed bill products, and the implementation of financial hedging strategies and risk management systems to support these products. Both within NiSource and for its customers, John regularly gave seminars and training presentations on rate design and deregulation. He authored a monthly “Fuel Price Outlook” with commentary and projections on the energy industry on his company’s website, and participated in periodic regional workshops to share his views on the market and future price trends. While at NiSource, John also authored, narrated, and produced a sixteen-part history documentary for a local public radio station entitled “Larger than Life”. At EEI, he and his staff have been examining and reporting on the interrelationship of the economy with energy demand and pricing. He has a B.S. in electrical engineering (University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana), an MBA (University of Illinois, Springfield), an M.S. in mathematics (University of Iowa), and a Ph.D. in economics (University of Illinois, Chicago).
Shawn Schukar
Vice President for Strategic Indicatives at Ameren Services
James Fine
Economist and Policy Scientist, Environmental Defense Fund
James "Jamie" Fine is an economist and policy scientist working on state-based initiatives to address global warming.
His areas of research and advocacy include design and implementation of cap-and-trade and other market-based policy, modeling the economic, air quality, and health risks of policy decisions, and facilitating the meaningful involvement of public stakeholders in environmental planning.
He has a Ph.D.from the University of California at Berkeley, Energy and Resources Group, 2003, and a B.S., University of Pennsylvania Wharton School, 1989.