December 1, 2009
Global Viewpoint
Smart Enough to Play Dumb
I was asked to present at the recent IEEE Transformers Working Group meeting in Chicago. When we were searching for a topic, my friend Greg Anderson suggested I talk about anything but smart grid....
Features
Demand Response is a Hit in Nashville
As part of its long-term planning, the Tennessee Valley Authority has adopted a strategy of promoting energy efficiency and peak demand reduction....
North China Utility Looks Ahead 20 Years
LOCATED IN NORTH CHINA, TIANJIN IS A MUNICIPALITY DIRECTLY UNDER THE CHINESE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT. Fed by a 500-kV ring-connected network linking the power...
Houston Brings Its Grid Into the Digital Age
CREATING AN ADVANCED METERING SYSTEM IS THE FIRST STEP IN DEPLOYING A SMART GRID. CenterPoint Energy Inc.'s (Houston, Texas, U.S.) electric transmission...
Packet Radio is the Critical Communication Link
WITH THE GLOBAL DEMAND FOR INCREASED POWER AND IMPROVED QUALITY OF SUPPLY, the development of Portugal has a major impact on the expansion of EDP Distribuio's...
A New Take on Mutual Aid
JANUARY ICE STORMS ARE NOT UNUSUAL IN MISSOURI, BUT THE ONE THAT HIT IN 2009 caused unprecedented damage to the state's transmission system. Wide-scale...
Testing Prevents Surge in Arrester Failures
SURGE ARRESTERS ARE OFTEN OVERLOOKED WHEN PERFORMING POWER FACTOR TESTS on transformers, breakers and other apparatus in a substation. Oftentimes, the...
Business Developments
FERC Ruling Shifts Transmission Cost Burden to Wind Developers
A recent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) ruling shifts virtually the entire responsibility of paying for transmission network upgrades to...
UTC Tallies Benefits of Smart Grid Use
A typical electric utility can expect smart grid technology to generate at least US$110 million per year through a range of benefits, according to utility...
Honeywell to Deliver Energy-Efficiency Programs for Pepco
Honeywell (www.honeywell.com) announces a three-year US$12.8 million contract with Pepco Holdings Inc. (Washington, D.C.) to implement and manage a portfolio...
Utilities Ramp Up Efforts to Make Electricity a Transportation Fuel
Declaring an urgent imperative to prepare for the use of electricity as a crucial transportation fuel in the future, the nation's electric utilities have...
3M ACCR Added to List of Materials by Rural Utilities Service
The 3M Aluminum Conductor Composite Reinforced (ACCR), an overhead transmission conductor designed to more than double transmission capacity without rebuilding...
AREVA T&D Acquires Megatran, Secures Supply Agreement with Hydro-Qubec
AREVA T&D (www.areva-td.com) and the shareholders of Megatran Electric Ltd. have signed an agreement for AREVA T&D to acquire Megatran, the Qubec, Canadian-based...
Thompson to Chair Smart Grid Task Group of Wi-Fi Alliance
Mark Thompson, vice president of Strategic Communication Networks with ACLARA has been elected by member companies of the Wi-Fi Alliance to chair the...
Technology Updates
Composite Poles Withstand Texas Tornado
Resin Systems Inc. (www.grouprsi.com), a manufacturer of advanced composite products for infrastructure markets, announces that its RStandard poles have...
Public Service Company of New Mexico Builds a Reliable Network with AutoCAD
Software from Autodesk Inc. (www.autodesk.com) is helping the Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) provide reliable electric service to the citizens...
Hendrix Wire & Cable Completes Clark Energy Stanton Project
Hendrix Wire & Cable (www.hendrix-wc.com), a provider of high-quality overhead and underground power distribution products, announces the completion of...
Siemens to Expand HVDC Link in New Zealand
Siemens Energy (www.siemens.com) has received an order from Wellington-based Transpower New Zealand Ltd., the national grid operator, to modernize and...
ABB Receives $30 Million Power Order in Canada
ABB (www.abb.com) has won an order worth $30 million from Hydro One Network Inc., one of Canada's leading power utilities, to provide a turnkey static...
Siemens Provides Solutions for Mining Industry in Peru
Siemens Peru has consolidated its growth through important industry and energy projects, where solutions of all its divisions have been consolidated....
NRTC Supports Electric Cooperative Members by Adding Clevest Solutions
The National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (www.nrtc.coop) has signed an agreement with Clevest Solutions Inc. (www.clevest.com) to offer the company's...
Berkeley Labs Partners with UISOL in OpenADR Smart Grid Solution Development
Utility Integration Solutions (www.uisol.com) has enterened into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory...
KEMA Opens High Voltage Laboratory
KEMA (www.kema.com) has officially opened the doors to its new High Voltage Laboratory in Arnhem, the Netherlands. The new High Voltage Laboratory will...
Canadas' First Operational Solar Energy Park Goes Live
Joint-venture partners SunEdison Canada (www.sunedison.com) and SkyPower Corp. (www.skypower.com) announce the activation of Canada's first ground-mount...
Quarterly Report
Protecting Our Nation's Infrastructure
THE GEOSPATIAL INFORMATION AND TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATION IS EXTREMELY CONCERNED about the current status of the nation's infrastructure and ways to begin...
Characters with Character
Like Minds
SPEND A FEW MOMENTS SPEAKING WITH SANDRA HERNANDEZ AND IT BECOMES OBVIOUS how passionate she is about electrical engineering. A recent graduate of California...
Products and Services
PRODUCTS & Services
UL-Listed Copper Busbars BURNDY's new UL-listed busbar is ideal for use as a common ground point in a data center, central office or power system. The...
Straight Talk
The Value of True Partnership
I'VE HEARD SO MANY TIMES THAT CHANGE CAN'T BE ACHIEVED OR CERTAIN COMPANY GOALS CAN'T BE ACCOMPLISHED because a company has a union. But I don't buy into...
Electric Utility Operations
ComEd Crew Installs Fuse Upgrade Live
When a tree branch falls onto a power line and then onto the ground, it often blows a fuse and knocks out power. In some cases, the cause for the blown...
Line Crew Traverses the Tacoma Narrows Crossing
Two years ago, Tacoma Power (Tacoma, Washington) celebrated the completion of one of the longest power line spans in the world. Measuring 6,240 feet,...
Linemen Drill Pole Holes Through Solid Rock
A devastating ice storm knocked out power to 25,000 customers of Nolin Rural Electric Cooperative Corp. (RECC; Elizabethtown, Kentucky) last January....
Ameren Crew Safely Works on Energized Line
Working on a live circuit demands certain safety precautions, but it can help to ensure the reliability of the electric system. On a recent project, Ameren...
PRODUCTS & Services
High-Visibility Grounds Flags These high-visibility, orange reflective flags reduce worker exposure to energized parts. The 8-inch by 8-inch flags are...
Parting SHOT
Linemen from around the world traveled to Kansas City for the 26th Annual International Lineman's Rodeo in Bonner Springs, Kansas. The competitors braved...
Line Work is a Family Tradition
As the utility industry faces a pending labor shortage, the next generation of line workers are following in their parents' footsteps. This is good news...
Michael Miller
Born in Charleston, South Carolina. Married for 22 years to Martina; they have two daughters, Francesca and Michelle, and a grandson, Brendon. Describes...
