Preparing to Harden Electrical Resources for Hurricane Season

Experts responsible for predicting storms that will affect United States communities estimate that up to twenty named storms will cause significant damage in 2021. The first one, Ana, has already occurred before the beginning of June, announcing the start of our annual Hurricane Season. Communities that are likely to suffer effects of significant damage from [...]

The Biden-era FCC Dilemma: Would Restoring Net Neutrality Regulations Hurt the Poor?

Proponents of net neutrality have seen Internet regulations seesaw wildly, beginning in 2015, when the FCC under chairman Tom Wheeler designated Internet access as a “common carrier,” effectively bringing Internet Service Providers (ISPs) under the FCC’s telephone-era regulations. Issues surrounding net neutrality spark extraordinary amounts of controversy and inflammatory rhetoric, typically spilled without supporting evidence. [...]

Principles and Strategies for Effective Leadership in the “New Normal”

As my close friend was telling me about the challenges she had gone through during the pandemic, I kept hearing Marty Linsky’s words in my head: “Leadership is an improvisational art: It cannot be scripted moment to moment.” Like most of us, my friend struggled to keep herself and her team afloat ever since the [...]

Do Your Solar Panels Affect Your Electricity Consumption?

Many solar industry and environmental advocates promote the claim that distribution ownership of energy is efficient. In the “Solar Impacts: Does Distributed Production Affect Consumption Choices?” study, support for this claim rests upon a fundamental assumption shared by and “virtually every current model of compensating distributed generation.” The study points out, however, that this fundamentally [...]

Who Will Pay the Pandemic Utility Bill – and How?

The COVID-19 pandemic has both spread and worsened in many areas, forcing widespread emergency responses, often at short notice and with minimal resources to help people cope with dire consequences. A major concern among most households, especially those struggling to meet basic needs, has been how to remain connected to essential utility services. The financial [...]