February 1, 2010
Global Viewpoint
Wind on Wires
We have been told the technologies of the intelligent grid are going to change the way we work and do business. It is going to transform the electro-mechanical...
Features
PG&E Forges Active Customer Relationships
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) is staking out the next frontier in the rapidly evolving U.S. energy industry. With more than 4 million smart meters...
Oncor Relies on BPL
Oncor's broadband-over-power-line (BPL) network, which covers 65 sq miles (168 sq km) in Dallas, Texas, U.S., combines the speed of fiber optics with...
Substation Expansion Goes Vertical
In Shanghai, China, the existing 35-kV substations are located indoors on large sites, and the operation and maintenance costs are relatively high. The...
GIS Integration Enhances Utility Storm Response
Along with a strong focus on energy efficiency and emerging technologies, Progress Energy has developed a comprehensive storm-response plan that drives...
TVA Pioneers the Future of Monitoring
When a power system disturbance occurs, several questions come to mind: What caused the event to happen? When did the event happen? Where did the event...
Gas-Insulated Lines Provide EHV Solution
When the transmission system operator (TSO) Amprion (formerly RWE TSO) started planning further development of the extra-high-voltage (EHV) transmission...
Distribution Systems Get Efficiency Upgrades
Distribution system efficiency (DSE) is one of the most energized subjects in the electric utility industry today. The distribution system actually can...
The Power of LiDAR Supplement
Business Developments
AREVA Sells T&D Business Unit
The AREVA group signed an agreement setting out the legal and financial terms and conditions for the disposal of its transmission and distribution business....
Siemens/CEPEL Consortium to Supply New Energy Management Systems to Brazil
Siemens Energy and CEPEL, the Brazilian Electrical Energy Research Center, are to supply new energy management systems (EMSs) to the Brazilian grid operator...
Celebrate 20 Years of DistribuTECH
The DistribuTECH Conference & Exhibition covers automation and control systems, energy efficiency, engineering, demand response, renewables integration,...
Hydro One Awards Von Roll Transformers $16.6 Million Contract
Von Roll, one of Switzerland's longest established industrial companies, has qualified to be one of the main suppliers of high-performance transformers...
Hyundai Heavy to Build Wind Farm in Pakistan
On Jan. 25, 2010, the consortium led by Hyundai Heavy Industries signed an MOU with Yunus Brothers for YUNA Project to build a wind farm with 50-MW capacity...
UtiliCon Solutions Acquires Highlines Construction Co.
UtiliCon Solutions Ltd., a subsidiary of Asplundh Tree Expert Co., has purchased certain assets of Highlines Construction Co. Inc., based in Westwego,...
ITC Midwest Connects 716 MW of Wind Generation in 2009
Helping to harness wind energy development in the Midwest, ITC Midwest LLC connected 716 MW of installed wind energy generation to the company's electric...
NIST Governing Board of Smart Grid Interoperability Panel Names Officers
The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has announced that John F. Caskey, senior director of its power equipment division, has been...
HD Supply Utilities to Offer Energy Intelligence
HD Supply Utilities has partnered with Carina Technology to distribute Carina's Energy Intelligence solution to electric utilities in most areas of the...
Letters to the Editor
Rick, Your December Global Viewpoint struck a nerve with this well-worn distribution hack, and I developed an urgent need to share my thoughts with you....
Technology Updates
SCPPA Launches Utility-Scale Distributed Energy Storage Project
Rather than building a new power plant to address peak electricity demand needs, Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) will move 64 GWh of...
Snohomish PUD Announces Online Self-Help Energy Suite
Snohomish County Public Utility District has added APOGEE Interactive's residential energy suite to its Web site to offer customers quick and personalized...
Limoneira Solar Project and Visitor Center Receives LEED Gold Certification
The U.S. Green Building Council awarded a LEED Gold certification to the Limoneira Solar Project and Visitor Center, designed by architecture and engineering...
Quarterly Report
Smart Meter Deployment
Many utilities recognize the value of smart metering and are either planning or implementing their smart meter deployment. Few companies, however, have...
Characters with Character
Holding the Line
George Patrick is committed to his work as well as his community. Not only is this 29-year veteran of Santee Cooper (Moncks Corner, South Carolina, U.S.)...
Products and Services
PRODUCTS & Services
Ethernet Security Gateway Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories has designed the SEL-3620 Ethernet Security Gateway to provide security to critical infrastructure...
PRODUCTS & Services, February 2010
Digital Voltage Indicators HD Electric Co.'s DVI-500 Digital Voltage Indicators are a new addition to the company's Digital Voltage Indicator line. The...
Straight Talk
A Beautiful Grid?
John Nash the well-known mathematician made famous by the movie A Beautiful Mind is the father of modern game theory. Game theory explains the dynamics...
Electric Utility Operations
The S.T.O.R.M. Model for Near-Miss Reporting
Near-miss events cost our industry twice as much per year than fatalities. And, these are time bombs waiting to hurt someone if corrective action is not...
Crews Use Cameras to Identify Faults
Linemen with Commonwealth Edison (ComEd; Chicago, Illinois) once relied solely on visual inspections to evaluate problems inside manholes. Now if field...
Crews Relocate Lines to Protect Power Supply
In February 2001, a major earthquake shook Washington's Puget Sound region. Among the structures damaged in the quake was the Alaskan Way Viaduct, an...
ATC Replaces Poles in Wetland Area
American Transmission Co. owns a 20-mile segment of a 345-kV transmission line in central Wisconsin. Over time, the aging poles became severely weakened...
Family Matters
Rob Nguyen, a husband, father and AmerenUE lineman, is staring down the road he left behind 34 years ago and feeling every mile of distance between here...
Parting SHOT
Dan Smith, a lineman for Southern California Edison, hot washes a 500-kV line after strong winds caused a fire to spread throughout Anaheim Hills, California....
Once a Lineman, Always a Lineman
About a month ago, I received an e-mail from a long-time listener, first-time caller. This reader retired after 32 years as a lineman and a first line...
Randy Harless
Born in Fairfax, Virginia. Married for 15 years to Leslie, and has twin 22-year-old stepdaughters, Lauren and Audrey, and a 14-year-old daughter named...
