September 2007
Global Viewpoint
What Color Are Your Stripes?
Last week I was talking with my buddy Vito when we got to swapping tales. Vito mentioned that when he was new to PG&E, he made a boneheaded and potentially...
Features
Customers Access Online Outage Data
For Florida, 2004 will go down in history as the year of the hurricanes. An unprecedented number of hurricanes took direct aim at Florida and ravaged...
CL&P Upgrades the Grid
Southeastern Connecticut is in one of the most power-constrained regions in the United States. During peak periods, Connecticut uses more power than it...
Northern Ireland Weathers the Storm
Hurricane-force winds swept across northern Ireland on Dec. 26, 1998. With winds gusting at speeds as high as 109 mph (175 kmph), it was the most extreme...
Automated Switching Benefits Customers
In November 2006, the city of Naperville's automation system was put to a severe test. A vehicle collided with a transmission pole, knocking out a vital...
Rebuilding Transmission In the Pascagoula Marsh
In the morning of Aug. 29, 2005, hurricane Katrina arrived in full force. One of the most devastating storms in the history of the United States, she...
Field Inspection Data Goes Mainstream
Tucson Electric Power used to record line inspection data on paper patrol sheets. If there were not any problems, the sheets were simply filed away for...
BUSINESSDevelopments
Dispelling the Old Myths: Measuring Winding Hot Spot Using Fiber Optics
Recent industry polls show winding hot-spot temperature is the most critical parameter utilities mention when considering a transformer-monitoring program....
MSATs, Co-op File Cost-Sharing Proposal with FERC
The Midwest stand-alone transmission (MSAT) companies including American Transmission Co. (Waukesha, Wisconsin, U.S.), ITCTransmission (Novi, Michigan,...
PG&E Joins Green Grid Nonprofit
Pacific Gas and Electric (PG San Francisco, California, U.S.) is the first utility to join The Green Grid, a nonprofit consortium dedicated to advancing...
TDMMA Conference
The Transmission & Distribution Maintenance Management Association (TDMMA) will be holding its 2007 Conference on Oct. 29-Nov. 1 in Kansas City, Missouri,...
Thomas & Betts Broadens Portfolio
Thomas & Betts Corp. (Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.) has signed definitive agreements to acquire Joslyn Hi-Voltage and Power Solutions from Danaher Corp. for...
Ontario Power Files 20-Year Plan
Conservation, renewable energy, and nuclear and natural gas are all cornerstones of Ontario's electricity future, according to a milestone plan filed...
TECHNOLOGYupdates
Namibia Embraces Complete Transformer Protection Package
Remote substations can be a challenge, and the utility responsible for providing electricity to Namibia and much of South Africa had several new remote...
SCADA/EMS Improvements to Power Quality in Kenya
ABB (Zurich, Switzerland) has signed a $25 million contract with Kenya Power & Lighting Co. (KPLC) to upgrade and expand the system that controls Kenya's...
Malaysia Utility Selects Itron Software for AMR Initiative
Itron Inc., in collaboration with local partner Impianas Sdn Bhd, has entered into a contract with Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), Malaysia's largest electricity...
Sonelgaz Awards AREVA Turnkey Contract
AREVA's Transmission and Distribution (T&D) division has signed a contract with the main Algerian utility Sonelgaz to increase the capacity of its transmission...
Burns & McDonnell Develop Engineering for Mesa Power
Burns & McDonnell (Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.) has been awarded a contract to provide initial development and conceptual engineering support for a proposed...
CHARACTERSwithCharacter
Riding the Path to Success
Whether helping clients solve T&D planning issues, cycling 40-plus miles with his bike club or spending time with family, Steve Chapel can be considered...
PRODUCTS&Services
Product & Services
Battery Analyzer World Energy Labs announces improvements to the test algorithms used within its series of Interrogator ElectroChemical battery analyzers....
StraightTALK
Building on Progress
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) new order 890 is a welcomed step forward to improving the nation's electric transmission grid. Since...
Electric Utility Operations
Linemen Rally for Annual Rodeo Competition
Hundreds of linemen — journeymen and apprentices alike — have been working hard all year developing their skills. And next month, they will have the opportunity...
The Tool Committee
A couple important trade shows are just around the corner. The International Construction & Utility Equipment Exposition (ICUEE) will take place Oct....
Mini-Digger Derricks Ease the Workload
Kansas City Power & Light (KCP Kansas City, Missouri) has been upgrading its system to meet the increased demand for capacity and to ensure maximum reliability....
A Shift in Strategy Puts Customers First
On July 4, 2007, my home phone rang at 2:30 a.m. The Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) shift manager at the Operations Control Center (OCC) was on the line...
Relays, Meters and the Magic Dot
The electrical engineering department at the Public Works Commission for the City of Fayetteville (Fayetteville, North Carolina) recently encountered...
Linemen Supplement
The Heart and Soul of a Utility
It is hard to keep your head When everyone else is losing theirs. Some are better at keeping their wits about them than others. When I headed south to...
Linemen in the Air
A FIRE BURNED THROUGH THE MOUNTAINOUS AREA EAST OF EUREKA, CALIFORNIA, and destroyed a wood-pole line. Pacific Gas & Electric (San Francisco, California,...
Safety From the Heart
Having Witnessed or experienced an on-the-job accident, whether a near miss or a fatality, forces linemen to move the issue of safety from their heads...
Lives on the Line
Jon BeasleySupervisor of Safety TrainingMunicipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG)Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. for Jon Beasley, you might well say electricity...
