Customer Reviews

Keeping the Lights On: Towards Sustainable Electricity

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4 star:		(1)
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Mr. Peterson presents important insights about the necessarily changing roles and inadequacies of the power grids, in developed and developing countries, and sadly widening gaps in public policy. I found it quite worth the price and time to read (I read it in two on a long plane rides), but I also found myself wanting him to stop repeating the same messages move on. To be fair, in his forward, he hints that the book was developed essentially as a stringing together of smaller articles, which may lend to its repetitive style. It is an important read for those in power-related public policy, and I will look forward to his next work.

A lot of conventional wisdom about the energy and electric utility business is shredded and left in tatters on the floor by this short but important book. It asks us to change the way we think and talk about electricity, how we regulate and sell it, and why we need to change all that to build a sustainable future over the long haul and keep the lights on meanwhile.

I can highly recommend this book, without any hesitation, to anyone with even the vaguest interest in energy, sustainability and the environment.

At a time when many countries are concerned about climate change, energy security and the challenges that lie ahead; in maintaining our lifestyles in a world of scarce resources, Walt Patterson offers practical solutions and a prophetic vision for how we can adapt our energy industries to meet our future needs.

`Keeping the Lights On', makes for addictive reading, for anyone who is interested in how we are going to meet our insatiable need for electricity in the years to come. The book is pertinent and `of the age' as our governments' launch from policy blunder, to policy blunder, ignoring the lessons of the past and neglecting to think about the ramifications of their actions on our energy future.

Walt Patterson clearly distils over thirty-six years experience as the rational voice of energy policy into a publication which is both accessible and challenging. Walt Patterson brings to the book the benefit of his considerable knowledge and observation of the energy industry over the past several decades to the table, and communicates his vision of the future clearly and articulately.

His analysis is particularly timely, as having witnessed and documented the failures of the energy industry in the past, he can offer a considered; albeit fresh and inspiring take on the current decisions that are being made about our energy policy.

If you enjoy `Keeping the Lights On', I can also highly recommend `Transforming Electricity', also by the same author.