by Rebecca Walker — June 2, 2010—A survey of the more than 100 executives within the U.S. and Canadian electric and natural gas industries shows that some 80 percent are dissatisfied with the U.S. government’s energy policy performance following the one-year anniversary of President Obama’s inauguration and amid a slowly rebounding economy.
The annual survey, now in its fourth year, is conducted by Capgemini, a leading provider of consulting, technology and outsourcing services, in cooperation with Platts, a leading global supplier of energy and metals information.
“While utility industry executives are generally pleased that the Obama administration has stimulated conversation around energy and sustainability, and that they have invested in a number of initiatives through the economic recovery package, there is considerable dissatisfaction in the lack of tangible and actionable policy and legislation,” said John Christens, vice president, Smart Energy Services, Capgemini.
“Few utility executives consider the current solutions as satisfactory either in scale or feasibility. Specific concerns cited by executives included a lack of movement on CO2 legislation and action, regulations which will increase the cost of power without addressing the root issue of atmospheric carbon, and overly idealistic policies without adequate consideration to overall economic impact.”
The Platts/Capgemini Utilities Executive Study is designed to identify and prioritize current industry concerns, assess opinions about the future of the energy industry, measure the steps utility companies are taking to prepare for the future and gauge perceptions about the Obama administration’s impact on the energy industry.
Despite these concerns, utility executives indicated that the Obama administration has succeeded in stimulating dialogue about the energy industry in general and about specific sustainable solutions, such as wind and solar energy. Respondents also cited the administration’s stimulus package as a positive accomplishment.
According to the study, utility executives cite regulation (71 percent) and the environment (68 percent) as the top challenges facing the industry today. Specifically, emissions and carbon regulation (75 percent), lack of adequate national energy policy (52 percent) and uncertainty about transmission regulation (50 percent) were ranked as the most salient issues by senior utility executives with respect to regulation.
For more information regarding the Platts/Capgemini Utilities Executive Study and to download the complete results, see the Web site.
