Use the cleanest fuels and technology

Assignment Help Operation Management

Reference no: EM13250524

The Hydro-Electric Company (HEC) has three sources of power. A small amount of hydroelectric power is generated by damming wild and scenic rivers; a second source of power comes from burning coal, with emissions that create acid rain and contribute to global warming; and the third source of power comes from nuclear fission. HEC's coal fired plants use obsolete pollution control technology, and an investment of several hundred million dollars would be required to update it.

Environmentalists urge HEC to promote conservation and purchase power from suppliers that use the cleanest fuels and technology.

However, HEC is already suffering from declining sales, which have resulted in billions of dollars invested in idle equipment. Its large customers are taking advantage of laws that permit them to buy power from low-cost suppliers HEC must cover the fixed costs of idle capacity by raising rates charged to its remaining customers or face defaulting on bonds (bankruptcy). The increased rates motivate even more customers to seek low-cost suppliers, the start of a death spiral for HEC. To prevent additional rate increases, HEC implements a cost cutting program and puts its plans to update pollution controls on hold.

Form sides, and discuss the ethical, environmental, and political issues and trade-offs associated with HEC's strategy.

Reference no: EM13250524

Questions Cloud

Define an ideal monatomic gas is compressed isothermally : A 1.00-mol sample of an ideal monatomic gas is compressed isothermally and irreversibly in one step from 2.50 atm to 6.50 atm at 300.0 K. Calculate G for this process.

Is household better off or worst off with higher interest : Suppose that a household in a two-period model has income of $30,000 in period 1 and $25,000 in period 2, and interest rate is 75%.

Find the tension in the string an instant before it broke : A 300g ball on a 70-cm-long string is swung in a vertical circle about a point 200 cm above the floor. What was the tension in the string an instant before it broke

Explain what quantity of the coal is required to produce : The heat of combustion of bituminous coal is 2.5 × 104 J/g. What quantity of the coal is required to produce the energy to convert 100. lb of ice at 0°C to steam at 100°C

Use the cleanest fuels and technology : Form sides, and discuss the ethical, environmental, and political issues and trade-offs associated with HEC's strategy.

At what forward voltage does a diode conduct a current : At what forward voltage does a diode conduct a current equal to 1000 Is. In terms of Is, what current flows through the same diode when its forward voltage is 0.7V.

Compute the solubility of mx strong acid : For the compound MX, Ksp is 2.00 × 10-11. The anion X- forms the weak acid HX (Ka = 1.8 × 10-5). Calculate the solubility of MX in 10.00 M strong acid.

What symptoms of diseconomies of scale appear : What are the economies of scale in operations management class size? As class size increases, what symptoms of diseconomies of scale appear?

Find the speed of the ball at given point : A 500g ball swings in a vertical circle at the end of a 1.5-m-long string. When the ball is at the bottom of the circle, the tension in the string is 12N

User Account

All Pages