How to Prevent Progress in the Generation, Transmission, and Distribution of Electricity

If you’re in the electrical utility business, getting the PUC’s approval to pass a cost you’ve incurred along to rate-payers is obviously a big deal; your goal is not to spend a nickel that you can’t recoup.  But, where the utilities in California can get pre-approval before they build a new asset, the utilities in Washington State cannot.   They have to build the asset (say, a new power plant, or energy storage system) before they even approach the commission for approval.  As a consequence, as a representative of Puget Sound Electric was explaining to us at Infocast’s “Storage Week” show yesterday, PSE is extremely cautious of spending money on new technology. 

Of course, this is a sure-fire way to ensure that no progress occurs in the way that electricity is generated, transmitted, and distributed.  How totally asinine.