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McCullough Research occasionally publishes opinion pieces, essays and articles. Please contact the publication listed for permission to reproduce or distribute the items below.
1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009
2013
April 2013
It's time to consider a less-costly U.S. energy plan
Robert McCullough critiques United States national energy policy. He argues that oil is both less regulated than and more expensive than other fuels, and yet the United States continues to export domestic coal and natural gas at cheap prices. In the end, McCullough puts forth a two-point strategy that would address these issues. -- The Oregonian, Opinion Editorial, Robert McCullough
2012
November 2012
Are electric vehicles actually cost-effective?
Robert McCullough responds to a study by the Congressional Budget Office which found that electric vehicles are not cost effective. He refutes a series of crucial assumptions which were posited by the CBO. After introducing and justifying a set of new assumptions, McCullough finds that electric vehicles are cost-effective across broad ranges in the price of batteries, gasoline, and electricity. -- Electricity Policy, Robert McCullough
November 2012
Portland's energy credits: The trouble with buying 'green'
Robert McCullough criticizes Portland Mayor Sam Adams for the purchase of renewable energy credits. He argues that such an action by a city is, in fact, a waste of city resources. If the city of Portland wants to decrease dependence on fossil fuels, McCullough argues, they ought to promote the use of electric vehicles. -- The Oregonian, Opinion Editorial, Robert McCullough
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2009
July 2009
Fingerprinting the Invisible Hands
Robert McCullough discusses how opaque markets inflate power prices: "In the administered North American electricity markets, a high level of secrecy concerning bids, bidders, and computations is currently the norm. The decision to maintain such secrecy has little discussion and the impacts of secrecy on prices and efficiency have never been comprehensively studied. One of the very few surveys of transparency in this area, a CRA report prepared in 2007, concludes that '[f]ew, if any, of the markets had evaluated information disclosure explicitly for its effects on competition or market efficiency.' In practice, the issue of transparency has been left to Adam Smith's 'invisible hands.'..." Read more
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2008
February 2008
The High Cost of Restructuring
RTO Markets aren't living up to the promise of cheap power. -- Public Utilities Fortnightly, Robert McCullough, Berne Martin Howard and Michael Deen
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2006
March 27, 2006
A
Decisive Time for LNG
LNG's place in an efficient energy economy -- Daily Astorian,
Opinion Editorial, Robert McCullough & Ann Stewart
February 15, 2006
Utilities
and Trade Secrets: Retain the Openness in Utility Regulation
The importance of
public accessibility to information about utilities' operations and
infrastructure. -- The Oregonian, Opinion Editorial, Robert McCullough
February 9, 2006
Opening the Books
"Enron, in spite of recent evidence, will eventually fade away.
The issue that lawyers and economists call transparency -- openness --
will not. The basic protections for consumers and investors have
against fraud is information. . . The best way to avoid a repetition of
such schemes is to make sure that public policy in Oregon continues to
provide the citizens of Oregon with open information on the operations
of the electric infrastructure that is critical for their lives." --
The
Oregonian, Opinion Editorial, Robert McCullough
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2005
August 2, 2005
Squeezing
Scarcity from Abundance
Analyzes the
California Energy Crisis and critiques regulatory attempts --
Public Utilities Fortnightly, Robert McCullough
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2003
March 25,
2003
Revisiting
California
A follow-up to Price Spike Tsunami: How Market Power Soaked California: "the crisis turned out to be a problem in
institutions and not resources", and "California's restructuring
was characterized by six words - 'bad design, bad incentives, bad
results'. " -- Public Utilities Fortnightly, Robert McCullough
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2002
July 9, 2002
Opinion
Editorial
Analyzes Seattle City Light's actions
during the California crisis -- Seattle Times, Opinion Editorial, Robert McCullough
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2001
February 1, 2001
Letter to the Governor: What Oregon
Should Know About the ISO
"The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Dec. 15 order proposing
remedies for calming runaway prices in the western power markets was
largely disconnected from the ongoing crisis. . . . The result, amply
shown in this order, has been to cancel the parts of the experiment
that do not agree with FERC's beliefs, without really focusing on the
underlying problems." -- Public Utilities Fortnightly, Robert McCullough
January 1, 2001
Price
Spike Tsunami: How Market Power Soaked California
Cover story article detailing market power abuses in California --
Public Utilities Fortnightly, Robert McCullough
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1999
March 1, 1999
Electric Competition, One Year Later:
Winners and Losers in California
"California's Electric Restructuring Plan, launched April 1, 1998,
marks one of the
most ambitious attempts in U.S. history to place the state in a social
engineering role." How has the experiment gone? -- Public Utility
Fortnightly, Robert McCullough
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1998
July 15, 1998
California's Electricity Market: Are
Customers Necessary? Why Competitive energy suppliers see retail
consumers as a burden under the current rules
"A careful review shows that the California Public Utilities
Commission, guided by the torturous language of Assembly Bill 1890, the
state's electric restructuring law, has created a situation where
customers are not necessarily a part of a competitive market. While
that may sound peculiar, not to say counterproductive, it simply
reflects the PUC's preoccupation with theoretical market issues and its
lack of interest in short-term customer welfare. As the PUC has stated
many times, its major interest was in achieving a transparent pricing
and market structure. It may well
have succeeded but at the cost of giving up market access for the
customers themselves." -- Public Utilities Fortnightly, Robert McCullough
March 15, 1998
Can Electricity Markets Work Without
Capacity Prices?
"Many players in the electric industry have come to believe that
energy-only prices will soon replace the hundred-year tradition of
pricing both energy and capacity. This idea, sometimes called "monomic"
trading, offers a seductive simplicity. Even so, research indicates
that it is unlikely to work well." -- Public Utilities Fortnightly, Robert McCullough
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