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“Don’t be evil.” That was the tagline for Sergey Brin and Larry Page, the founders of Google, er Alphabet. Hahahaha! For some reason, they ditched this motto three years ago. They also used the name change fig leaf to paint over their sins. When you make an audacious statement like that and demonstrably act inRead more

A couple months ago in Outside the Boxer, we considered efficiency as a resource to be compared with supply-side resources. In May, we challenged minds with We All Un-Bundle, suggesting that utilities get markups for services delivered over their infrastructure. Let’s advance these concepts! Efficiency – A Utility Perspective Utilities are slow to change forRead more

Our theme the last few weeks has covered technological change, consumer emotions, and irrational ways of thinking. The regulated monopoly and its cost-of-service model will not last forever. Someday it will be replaced. What might that look like? Right after last week’s post, From Crazy to Rational went up, I read Why Electric Utilities ShouldRead more

Last week, in a moment of weakness, I was on my Pinterest board (is that what it’s called?), when I came upon this excellent tip sheet from a marketing blog[1]. I noted that the “emotional” alternatives to the “intellectual,” bloated phrases were simpler with fewer syllables and easier to read. On the same day, IRead more

Everyone has applied for health insurance[1], and many of you have applied for life insurance. Anyone over, oh, 40, 50, or for sure 60, knows health flaws start to accumulate like the dumpster’s worth of unwelcome gifts, used shoes, and outdated clothes for those of you who stay current with the style trends of theRead more

Don’t you hate it when the holidays come, and the A-Team of whatever it may be – radio show hosts, NPR, WPR, other talk radio and news stations – play their “best of” broadcasts? It is essentially retreads of irrelevant, untimely information. Of course we don’t do this at the Rant. Instead, this holiday week,Read more

Most readers have likely seen the business triangle: cheap, fast, good [or accurate]; pick two. My first emotional reaction to the triangle was that it was something a lazy bum[1] would say. However, as a geezer, I think the law is valid for consulting. I will explain this in a future post. For utilities, itRead more

New ideas are great, but there is no replacement for accumulated experience to assess the landscape ahead and see potential trouble on the horizon. This is one of my most important responsibilities for our company. I am no mountain climber, but I am reminded of mountaineering documentaries about summiting Everest and getting past the treacherousRead more

Would you like to hear about the founding of Michaels?  Great!  Jim Michaels, founder and namesake of the company, and Dave Waffenschmidt, current President, had started a flourishing energy efficiency business within a local architect and engineering firm amid the waning days of the Carter administration.  The two of them, and one other fellow, leftRead more

The Energy Rant blog, in general, could be considered the sausage factory of energy efficiency; exploring the inner workings and realities of the business.  Everyone else writing about energy efficiency is talking about the delicious bratwurst and hotdogs one might get at the ballpark.  This week, however, we will explore EE from the utility shareholderRead more

The utility business is fascinating and bizarre to me, and this can only mean I’m a hapless, pathetically boring person.  But that is what it may look like to the uninformed.  It’s like soccer, baseball, or Indy car racing.  If you don’t like these games/sports, you just don’t get it. First off, from business andRead more

In case you are new to this blog, or somehow haven’t noticed, I tread where no mortals tread, through the valley of the shadow of death.  I discuss the all important bowels of the industry, and this week I have the crown jewel of a very unfortunate reality that is counterproductive and really harmful toRead more