About this course: THIS COURSE GIVES YOU THE INSIDE TRACK TO A COMPLICATED INDUSTRY. The approach of this course is truly unique in how it approaches and engages learners. It looks at the electric utility industry, which has remained critical to our quality of life, health and comfort from the eyes of numerous industry experts through on-location interviews, compelling visuals, and animation. You will benefit from having the inside track because you see some behind-the-scenes information not covered in news stories, social media or even if we are in the business ourselves. EACH WEEK YOU NOT ONLY LEARN WHAT IS CHANGING, BUT WHY. As this industry continues to unfold at an unprecedented pace, you will be armed with knowledge and insights to form informed opinions supporting decisions you will increasingly make for your energy-dependent homes and businesses. This course kicks off with animated crash course on industry history, highlighting aspects of the structure, governance, and technology that remain today, despite the passage of time. Then, throughout the modules, you will build some basics about how electricity gets to you, who watches over decisions, including setting rates. This information establishes a knowledge foundation so that when we explore some of the most critical topics, like renewable energy, smart grid, battery storage, and you can think about it from a much more analytical and critical viewpoint. YOU WILL DEVELOP A FRAMEWORK FOR MAKING SENSE OF THIS INDUSTRY THAT WILL BENEFIT YOU BEYOND THIS COURSE. This industry can get pretty complicated, and this course will help you make more sense of it. Electric Utilities Fundamentals and Future is the course for you whether you’re just curious about the industry or an industry veteran looking to grow – or, thinking about joining the industry. (Hint: now is a good time. You'll learn why in this course.) No prior education or experience required. You just need a healthy curiosity and an open mind to learn about an industry that I think a lot of us, including myself sometimes, take for granted.
Who is this class for: Learners with a range of experience and education in the electric utility industry will benefit from this course. The course builds a foundation starting with industry history and builds content to ensure learners can apply it to business and individual electricity decisions. Novices, industry veterans and those looking to join the industry will understand how the various aspects of this complex industry fit together. This course is well-suited for the electric industry novice or consumer, as well as industry veterans who are seeking information beyond their specialization to make more informed decisions.
Taught by: Melissa Wood, Faculty Member
University of Colorado Denver Business School, Global Energy Management Program
| Level | Beginner |
| Commitment | 5 weeks of study with 2 hours of work per week |
| Language | English |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
- Video: 1.1 Introduction
- Video: 1.2 Electric Utility Industry Animated Crash Course
- Video: 1.3 What Happens When You Flip a Switch?
- Video: 1.4 Generation for Generations
- Video: 1.5 Fossil Fuels
- Video: 1.6 Nuclear
- Video: 1.7 Renewables - Hydroelectric and Wind
- Video: 1.8 Renewables - Solar, Biomass and Geothermal
- Video: 1.9 The Generation Portfolio
- Video: 1.10 Transmission and Distribution
- Video: 1.11 Outro
- Discussion Prompt: Where does YOUR electricity come from? Real-world case studies using our own electric utilities
- Video: 2.1 Introduction
- Video: 2.2 Usage, Rates and Your Bill
- Video: 2.3 Utility Types and Prices: Overview, Public Power and Electric Cooperatives
- Video: 2.4 Utility Types and Prices: Investor-Owned Utilities (IOUs)
- Video: 2.5 Regulatory Compact and Rates Process
- Discussion Prompt: The electric utility in your backyard
- Discussion Prompt: What would you do?
- Video: 3.1 Introduction
- Video: 3.2 Becoming More Customer Focused
- Video: 3.3 Energy Efficiency
- Video: 3.4 Distributed Generation
- Discussion Prompt: Energy efficiency programs and their appeal
- Discussion Prompt: Utilities and Distributed Generation
- Video: 4.1 Introduction
- Video: 4.2 Technology and Customer Expectations
- Video: 4.3 Aging Grid and the Rise of Federal Transmission Regulation
- Video: 4.4 Federal Regulation and the Environment
- Video: 4.5 State of Electric Utility Policy
- Video: 4.6 State Regulation and the Environment
- Video: 4.7 Outro
- Discussion Prompt: Is less reliable service acceptable?
- Discussion Prompt: Renewable portfolio standards
- Discussion Prompt: Weigh in on the Clean Power Plan
- Video: 5.1 Introduction
- Video: 5.2 Smart Grid
- Video: 5.3 Microgrids
- Video: 5.4 Storage
- Video: 5.5 Electric Vehicles
- Video: 5.6 Net Metering and Distributed Generation
- Video: 5.7 Clean Power Plan
- Video: 5.8 Future Models
- Video: 5.9 Outro
- Discussion Prompt: Microgrid
- Discussion Prompt: Utility of the Future
Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.
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| Audit | Purchase Course | |
|---|---|---|
| Access to course materials | Available | Available |
| Access to graded materials | Not available | Available |
| Receive a final grade | Not available | Available |
| Earn a shareable Course Certificate | Not available | Available |
Great curriculum coupled with interviews and experts from leading Utilities makes this really interesting to learn this evolving industry.
The course gives a good overview of the industry and raises all main issues. Some things could be improved though. Quizzes could be somewhat tougher. They should focus more on understanding the covered material and avoid some basic factual questions. Non-graded assignments are very good for broadening your knowledge so should not be avoided. I'd recommend making them graded so that people don't skip them. I liked many interviews with industry experts very much.
Fast moving, informative course. Covers the past, present and future. Easy to understand.
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"Electric Utilities Fundamentals and Future" was an outstanding introduction to the rapidly changing--and, believe it or not, actually now exciting--electric utility industry. For those seeking an easy-to-digest yet intelligent overview of this major sector, dive on in.