The Effect of Corporate Water Disclosure on Financial Performance

Natural resources crises specifically the water crises are listed in the top ten global risk in 2021. Water demand and withdrawal increase as the population rise. To mitigate water scarcity, companies disclose more on water related information as an engagement to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). Motivated towards exploring the impact of corporate water disclosures, this study aims to examine effect corporate water disclosures for five years to financial performance of the sample companies. The sample companies are the electric utilities companies that listed as the top 50 market capitalisation in the sector. The water related information disclosure in this study include resource reduction policy, policy of water efficiency policy of environmental supply chain, target water efficiency and environmental management team. This study found that corporate water information disclosures including resource reduction policy and policy of water efficiency) have positive significant relationship on earnings per share (EPS). However, the target water efficiency is negatively significant with EPS which explain the behaviour of electric utilities companies all this while.

Electrokit: Power Utility Toolkit-Electricity Loss Reduction

The Electrokit is an initiative created by the IDB to strengthen transformation and continuous improvement of electric utilities in the LAC region. The Electrokit is organized in 16 activities that are common to most electricity utilities. This publication presents the indicators and best practices related to Electricity Loss Reduction. The aim of the toolkit is to provide power utilities, policy and decision-makers access to best practices, current trends, and expertise to: (i) identify challenges, develop a strategy and action plan for addressing them; and (ii) support utilities to be more sustainable, efficient, improve customer experience and accelerate innovation to stay ahead of the rapidly sector transformation.

Public Acceptance of ITER-Tokamak Fusion Power

One of the U.S. Electric Power Research Institute’s criteria for practical fusion power is public acceptance. In this analysis we consider the potential public acceptance of ITER-tokamak fusion power. Because ITER-like reactors are not likely to be commercially ready before mid-century, a forecast of public acceptance is very difficult. We break “the public” down into four entities: 1) Rank and file consumers, 2) Governments [local, state, & federal including regulators], 3) NGOs including environmental groups, and 4) Electric utilities. We assert that ITER-tokamaks will be evaluated in the context of fission power because both are nuclear processes. We observe that ITER-tokamak fusion will present radioactive hazards and be extremely expensive. Three possible futures for fission nuclear mid-century are: 1) full acceptance, 2) middling acceptance, and 3) rejection. If fission power is accepted mid-century, then ITER-tokamak fusion stands the best chance of being publicly acceptable, its largest drawback being very high cost. If fission power is of middling acceptance, then ITER-tokamak fusion might be marginally more acceptable because of its much shorter life radioactive waste. If fission power is unacceptable, then ITER-tokamak fusion acceptance will be very difficult.

Ratemaking as Climate Adaptation Governance

Electric utilities are directly affected by, and in some cases are a source of, many pressing climate adaptation challenges: wildfires, vulnerable infrastructure, extreme storms, and drought. The state Public Utilities Commission (PUC) is one of the most consequential government agencies guiding the electricity sector's response to climate change. Rate-regulated utilities may not charge ratepayers for new capital investments without PUC approval. When PUCs decide which costs are eligible for rate recovery, they also define which risks utilities seek to manage and which hedging strategies they use to do so. This Article argues that the foundational principles of ratemaking allow the state PUC to manage many aspects of electricity sector adaptation planning, coordination, and implementation. The Article begins with an overview of ratemaking for electric utilities and identifies how the process is an exercise in risk management. The Article then explains how a risk governance perspective can position the PUC to explicitly incorporate climate adaptation into ratemaking procedures as well as help coordinate adaptation policy across multiple agencies.