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ECE 585 Business of Electric Utility

ECE 585 Business of Electric Utility

March 25, 2026
3 Credit Hours
WT
Wenyuan Tang
Wenyuan Tang

Assoc Professor

Evolution of the electric utility industry, the structure and business models of the industry, the regulatory factors within which the utilities operate, the operations of the utility industry, and the current policy and emerging technology issues facing the business. The course includes an introduction to engineering economy and the analysis of time-value of money decisions as related to electric utility infrastructure.

Prerequisite

Power System Analysis (NC State ECE 451).

Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

  • Understand the nature of a “natural monopoly” and how that has defined and influenced the utility industry
  • Identify and differentiate the regulatory bodies governing the electric utility industry
  • Describe the primary business models of the industry and explain how an electric utility makes money
  • Understand utility financial concepts such as utility revenue requirements
  • Understand residential, commercial, industrial, and wholesale rate schedules
  • Understand “time value of money”/engineering economics concepts and how these are used in the utility context
  • Perform cost benefit analysis for utility projects
  • Understand the differentiation between capital and O&M expenditures in the utility context
  • Describe utility planning processes – and regulatory processes – for generation, transmission, and distribution, and describe utility risk management concepts
  • Describe utility asset management concepts and how to implement them
  • Describe the conflicts and challenges of interconnecting distributed resources in the midst of utilizing conventional utility planning models 

Course Requirements

  • Active engagement/participation
  • Homeworks
  • Projects
  • Final exam

Textbooks

  • R.E. Brown, Business Essentials for Utility Engineers, CRC Press, 2010.
  • William L. Thompson, Living on the Grid: The Fundamentals of the North American Electric Grids in Simple Language, IUniverse Inc., 2016. 

Updated: 8/16/2025