Lights Out (eBook)

Jason Makansi is the President of Pearl Street, Inc., a consulting firm he founded in 2000 focused on all aspects of electricity production and delivery. He has launched multiple businesses serving the electricity industry, including an investment fund, an advisory service for companies raising capital, and a public-policy advocacy organization. A prolific author and respected industry thought leader, Makansi has been researching and analyzing the technological, business, and regulatory issues in electricity production and delivery for over twenty-five years. He earned a BS in chemical engineering from Columbia University. Makansi is the author of An Investor's Guide to the Electricity Economy, also published by Wiley, and Managing Steam: An Engineering Guide to Commercial, Industrial, and Utility Systems.

Preface.

Acknowledgments.

Part One. The Worst-Case Scenario.

Chapter 1. Night of the Living Dead.

Chapter 2. The Production and Delivery Value Chain.

Chapter 3. Around the World, Around Town.

Chapter 4. Preventing the Worst Case.

Part Two. Insecurities, Vulnerabilities, and An Uneasy State
of the Industry.

Chapter 5. Why a First-World Country Has a Third-World Grid.

Chapter 6. Living with a Transaction Economy.

Chapter 7. The Brain Drain.

Chapter 8. Environmental Imperatives.

Chapter 9. Houston, We Have a Problem.

Chapter 10. The Impact of Lengthening Supply Lines: How Elastic
Are They?

Part Three. Fighting "The Last War," Planning the Next
One.

Chapter 11. It's That '70s Show.

Chapter 12. Sticker Shock (Without the Sticker).

Chapter 13. Electricity Storage.

Chapter 14. Coal: Extracting Its Full Value.

Chapter 15. Exercising the Nuclear Option.

Chapter 16. Savvy Consumption, Empowering Ratepayers.

Chapter 17. Distributed Power.

Chapter 18. Redefining the Grid with Real Intelligence.

Chapter 19. The Rest of the World.

Chapter 20. A Vision For The Future: Daydream, Nightmare,
or a Good Night's Rest?

Postscript: Personal Accountability.

Bibliography.

About the Author.

Index.

"Lights Out is a fast paced, no-holds-barred account of what iswrong in our electricity sector and how we might get it back ontrack, written by someone who has been in the business long enoughto know what he is writing about."
--Leonard Hyman, author of America's Electric Utilities: Past,Present, and Future

"Jason Makansi gives us a succinct, insightful view of recentelectricity problems. His lively, provocative writing explains themysteries of the technology, the politics, the regulation, and themarket manipulation. Parts of the book may make you mad, but youwon't be able to put it down and you will always be learningsomething."--Lester Lave, PhD, Professor of Economics andCodirector, Electricity Industry Center, Carnegie MellonUniversity

"This new work is provocative, factual, and will make you thinkabout the situation we face. It is a must-read for anyone evenslightly interested in the adequacy of the U.S. power sector andwhat the future may hold. Industry, regulatory, and politicalleaders need to read this to see the possible end results of theirdecisions."--Barry Worthington, Executive Director, UnitedStates Energy Association

"Jason Makansi's long history in the electricity business hasgiven him keen insights into the inner workings of the utilityindustry, and his examples and illustrations, based on his personalattempts at demand side management at home with his family, give alighter background to what is a profound and sometimes alarmingthesis."--Geoffrey R. Egan, PhD, President, APTECH EngineeringServices, Inc.

"This book enables even the novice to understand clearly themultifaceted issues facing an electricity-thirsty world. This booklays the foundation for understanding how complex power generationand delivery truly is, and is a clarion call to citizens andconsumers worldwide alike to become more informed and moreinvolved."--Timothy McCreary, President, HF Controls

"This thoroughly researched and well-documented discourseexplores the litany of issues plaguing the energy industry today.Lights Out will challenge your critical thinking skills and maycause you to question your position on the issues. Moreimportantly, Lights Out proposes realistic solutions that even ourelected representatives can comprehend and should seriouslyconsider."--Dr. Robert V. Peltier, PE, Editor in Chief, Powermagazine

"Lights Out: The Electricity Crisis, The Global Economy, AndWhat it Means to You points out a troubling reality in today'sworld--too many people take the electric power infrastructure forgranted. Jason Makansi draws on his years of experience toilluminate numerous dimensions of today's US powersector--engineering, political, economic

and financial--to make it all too apparent that taking reliable,affordable and environmentally sound power for granted is amistake. This book is an important catalyst for a long overduediscussion we all need to have regarding our electric powerfuture."

-- Lawrence Makovich, Managing Director of Cambridge EnergyResearch Associates Global Power Group

"Jason Makansi's 25 years experience in the electric powerindustry, combined with his ability to explain complex technologiesin simple terms, makes him the ideal author for this book. Itshould be required reading for everyone in the trade, the financialcommunity and others providing products and services to theindustry, as well as for business schools that teach why technologyleadership can be fleeting. And let's not forget the peevedcustomer who wants an unbiased explanation."-- Robert G.Schwieger, Editor and Publisher, COMBINED CYCLE Journal

"For anybody who believes that electricity will always be easilyavailable with the flip of a wall switch, Jason Makansi's bookLights Out provides an important education"--St. LouisPost-Dispatch