Message From Our CEO
The first half of this year has proven to be both rewarding and interesting as a wide variety of research reports and projects have contributed to our work in the industry.
Research Reports
We recently published our comprehensive report on all the International Retail Energy Markets open for competition. This report has been especially useful for US retailers and technology providers to help them begin to assess where the best opportunities to expand their business might be.
Our Japan Gas Market Landscape Report is a great tool for understanding Japan’s gas marketplace, which has just been opened to competition for the mass market. The report provides information on Japan’s gas deregulation process , utility data, market infrastructure, and a lot more. Watch for more details on how you can order your copy.
We will soon begin publishing a set of monthly Japan reports that provide ongoing market information in key areas. This series of reports include:
- Japan Monthly Market Report – focused on regulatory issues, market news, utility updates and analysis from our activities with METI, OCCTO and others
- Japan Competitive Retail Report – focused on retail market share statistics, mass market pricing charts for each utility market, competitor profiles and updates, and retailer-specific news
- Japan Electricity Pricing Bulletin – focused on wholesale pricing data, pricing trend analysis, utility-specific pricing, basis, weather, and impacts on headroom by utility market
Interesting Projects
It was difficult to pick just a couple out of the many interesting projects we are working on, but the two that are very unique include the Aliso Canyon gas storage project and our work with water heaters as battery storage.
Some time ago SoCal Gas experienced a significant leak at its Aliso Canyon storage field. This set in motion local and state government activities and a series of filings either to repair and reopen or permanently close the field. Our team developed a model that proves that Aliso Canyon can be closed without impacting reliability. This model includes some proposed market rule changes that will benefit consumers, as well as retail marketers and electric generators.
As for water heaters as battery storage, we recognize that while water heaters have been used for years in some municipal markets for load control, the technology being utilized is old. Our team developed and is testing a new model using current technologies that enables more utilization without impacting consumer comfort. In addition, we are working on a new business model that alters the value proposition for consumers and utilities by turning water heaters into a service offering.
We truly enjoy working on projects that involve creative solution development and incorporate new ways to solve problems. Bring us your tough-to-solve problems and perhaps we can develop a new solution for you as well.
Peter Weigand
Chairman & CEO
For more information regarding any of the above projects, reports, or bulletins, please visit our Insights Page.