May 1, 2009
Global Viewpoint
Fire and Ice
The Room Was Being Illuminated Via Clear Polymer Rods with circular light-reflecting etchings that caught the sun's rays being ported down from parabolic...
Features
Wind Energy Impacts Eastern Interconnection
With the Current Push to Dramatically Increase the Amount of Renewable Energy Resources especially wind-generated electricity two questions must be asked:...
PECO Takes Aim at Secondary Cable Failures
Philadelphia, Like Many Other Older Cities, has Benefited from Waves of Urban Renewal. Small commercial buildings and single-family residences have been...
Wood Chips to Energy
The History of the Vacuum Cleaner Goes Back to the 1860s. The device has grown from being a home appliance to one that is used extensively in commercial...
Embracing Change: A Move to Mobile GIS
For More than 50 Years, Linemen Navigated their Service Territories by Memory, armed with a handful of paper maps. This was the default or legacy way...
A Personal Reflection: How to Get Field Crews to Buy In
For the rest of my life, whenever I hear the word I will think of Bruce. He is every lineman. What Bruce hasn't learned from grit and determination, he...
Switching Plans Go Electronic
In March 2008, Baltimore Gas and Electric Converted from a Paper-Based System for planning, tracking and managing electric distribution switching operations...
Eskom Extends Low-Voltage Network
Opportunities Exist in Developing Countries for Innovative Technologies to be applied on networks that supply electricity to large rural communities....
Prague Welcomes CIRED 2009
The International Conference and Exhibition on Electricity Distribution (CIRED 2009) will be held in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, known...
Business Developments
Black & Veatch Telecom Division Achieves ISO 9000 Certification
The telecommunications division of Black & Veatch (www.bv.com) has achieved ISO 9001:2008 certification. ISO 9000 is a globally recognized standard for...
Enspiria Solutions Joins Demand Response and Smart Grid Coalition
The Demand Response and Smart Grid (DRSG) coalition has added Enspiria Solutions (www.enspiria.com) to its membership of more than 30 companies. The DRSG...
Shanghai Electric Cable Research Institute Expands Alliance with AMSC
American Superconductor Corp. (www.amsc.com) has expanded its strategic alliance with Shanghai Electric Cable Research Institute (SECRI) and has received...
Vice President Biden Outlines Funding for Smart Grid Initiatives
On April 16, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, on a visit to Jefferson City, Missouri, U.S., with Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, detailed plans by the U.S....
Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories: 100% Employee Owned
Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories Inc. (www.selinc.com) is now 100% employee owned. Founded by President and CEO Edmund O. Schweitzer III in 1984, SEL...
Utility Solar Conferece
Come join in the Solar Electric Power Authority (SEPA) Utility Solar Conference. The comprehensive conference content is being designed by utilities for...
Northeast Utilities Initiates Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure
Northeast Utilities (Berlin, Connecticut, U.S.) is in the initial stages of developing an electric charging infrastructure for plug-in electric vehicles...
Miami Proposes to Lead the Nation in Energy Efficiency with $200 Million Smart Grid Initiative
Manny Diaz, the mayor of Miami, Florida, U.S., has announced a energy initiative that proposes to use federal economic stimulus funds to help spur a US$200...
Technology Updates
Florida Power & Light Announces 75-MW Solar Plant
Lauren Engineers & Constructors (www.laurenec.com) recently signed a contract with Florida Power & Light Co. (Miami, Florida, U.S.) as the engineering,...
PGE Takes Smart Meter Installation Territorywide
Portland General Electric Co. (Portland, Oregon, U.S.) will begin rolling out more than 800,000 smart meters across its 4000-sq-mile (10,360-sq-km) service...
City of Andalusia Implements Aclara STAR Network System
The Utilities Board of the city of Andalusia, Alabama, U.S., is implementing the Aclara STAR Network system, an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI)...
Itron, Elster and Trilliant Announce Support for ANSI C12.22 Open Communication Standard
Elster (www.elster.com), Trilliant (www.trilliantinc.com) and Itron Inc. (www.itron.com) have joined forces in support of C12.22, the newly published...
Load-Control Pilot Begins at REMCs
Testing has begun at Decatur County REMC, Harrison REMC and Orange County REMC for a load-control pilot program. The assessment will help Hoosier Energy...
San Jose Selects New System as Part of Ongoing Green Vision
Echelon Corp. has won a tender for California's first smart streetlight project. The city of San Jose has selected Echelon's LonWorks...
ABB Commissions Switchgear Rated at 1 Million Volts
ABB (www.abb.com) has commissioned switchgear rated to handle more than 1 million volts, touching new heights in terms of global voltage levels. The ultrahigh-voltage...
Quarterly Report
Insecurity About Smart Grid Security
The Utility Industry is Entering a Period of Potentially Profound and arguably beneficial change, driven by new legislative and regulatory policy, economic...
Characters with Character
Facing the Future
Like Most Teenagers, Taylor Anne Lach is Full of Energy. However, the 13-year-old student from Orland Park, Illinois, U.S., recently became interested...
Products and Services
Products & Services
Solar Power Fundamentals PSEC, formerly known as the Power Systems Engineering Course, has been providing energy executives with strategies to maximize...
Straight Talk
Industry and Education
The Electric Power Industry Faces a Drain of Its Most Important Resource People. More than 50% of the utility workforce is age 45 or older. The U.S. Bureau...
Electric Utility Operations
Linemen Make Safety a Top Priority
Nearly every lineman has known a coworker who has been injured or killed while on the job. These incidents burn in their memories and change their perspectives...
Tom Dixon
Born in Spokane, Washington, and has two sisters, Dru and Kim. Married for 30 years to Patty; father of Michael, Gary and Dena. Described as a compassionate,...
Constant Safety Awareness: Five Keys to Managing Your Space Between
Anyone who has ever climbed a pole or opened a switch knows about safety. Linemen wear rubber gloves, hard hats and steel-toed boots. Apprentices learn...
Alternative Service Cable Saves Time and Money
A change in cable installation practices for Commonwealth Edison (Chicago, Illinois) is yielding a 25% to 30% savings over the traditional buried service...
JEA Installs and Maintains Smart Meters
The downturn in the economy has increased the number of tampering incidents for utilities nationwide. As more property owners are struggling with paying...
Products & Services
Manhole Cover Lifter The Utility Manhole Cover Lifter enables one person to lift manhole covers in a variety of work environments and applications. The...
