Obama Vs. Romney: Sizing Up The Electric Industry's Winners And Losers
Shared on August 16, 2012 written by Doug Houseman via Smart Grid
Having looked at the Energy Policy Guidelines on both President Barack Obama's website and that of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the one thing that is for sure is that they lack details. But that said, it's still worthwhile to sort out the winners and losers in the electric industry under each person as president (assuming that they could get all of their energy policy in place).
The results are pretty stark. The positions of both candidates, while light in detail, point to very different winners and losers. It is slightly surprising to see how different the policies really are when you look at them in a winners/losers context as I have done below. (In all cases, the winners and losers described here focus on U.S. based companies. What will happen to foreign companies and their exports to the U.S. is not part of this analysis.)
Overall winners:
- Gas-fired Generation - It will likely fare better under Romney than Obama, because the priority to build pipelines and transmission lines will be higher under Romney's policy
- Security Providers - Any company that works on any aspect of infrastructure security can expect to win under either administration. DHS and its contractors will probably fare better under Obama than Romney. Private companies will probably do better under Romney
Overall losers:
- Coal-fired Generation - The phase out will likely be slower under Romney, but the owners see the writing on the wall
- Transmission and Distribution - With the focus on generation, most utilities and infrastructure owners are going to have little money left over to spend on transmission and distribution improvements. The federal government has encouraged leaving transmission projects to the states because they need to decide if they are willing to increase the rate base to cover improvements
Surprise Winner:
- Great Lakes Shipping - With the West Coast refusing to open a coal terminal, look for one of the Great Lakes iron ore docks to be repurposed for coal shipment. With the larger locks being completed in Panama, expect that shippers will think hard about moving coal from the Midwest via ship to China and other Asian markets. This situation has a higher chance of succeeding under Romney than under Obama
Keywords: Political Energy Guide, Political Energy Concerns
Citation: Doug Houseman. Obama Vs. Romney: Sizing Up The Electric Industry's Winners And Losers. In via Smart Grid. Retrieved August 16, 2012, from http://www.smartgridnews.com/artman/publish/Business_Policy_Regulation/Obama-vs-Romney-Sizing-up-the-electric-industry-s-winners-and-losers-5041.html.
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