Uncertainty hampers forward planning

The long-term investment plans of US utilities are being hampered by regional regulatory ambiguity and a string of failed mergers. David Watkins investigates

A lack of long-term investment by utilities is leading towards a dearth of much-needed additional capacity, experts warn.

In its 2006 long-term reliability assessment, the North American Electric Reliability Council (Nerc) warned that electric capacity margins will decline in the next decade due in part to utilities being unwilling to execute long-term resource acquisition strategies.

"No-one is announcing much in terms of long-term capacity additions and they're waiting until the last possible