Energy services providers or DISCOs, who will improve the quality and reliability of electric services to customers?

In a number of consulting assignments that the Applied Resources Group (ARG) has undertaken recently, the reliability of the delivery system and the quality of the energy supplied were of paramount importance. This paper is the result of the authors' observations of the dynamics of the newly restructured US electric utility industry as seen in these assignments. An example is provided illustrating customer power quality and power reliability problems and various transmission and distribution (T&D) solutions that involve the dominant participants in the new utility industry.