December 1, 2011
DIGITAL EDITION
View this issue in our digital edition format:
December 2011 International Issue
Global Viewpoint
Five Hours and a World Away
Scott Milanowski was presenting one of our nine Game Changer Web seminars. He spoke on the status of smart grid efforts at his utility, Oklahoma Gas &...
Features
The Rise of Smart Circuits
Smart grid deployments come in many different forms across the United States and around the globe. Avista is addressing distribution reliability and energy...
TransAmerica Interconnections
Throughout the last few years, electric utilities around the world have started implementing important changes in their organizations to promote efficiency...
Smart Grid on a Pad
ComEd engineers have added an innovative tool to their reliability toolbox. The new technology provides an alternative to conventional automatic circuit...
Progress Energy Tackles the Third Harmonic
Harmonic voltage and currents on the distribution system have been largely an industrial issue caused by large motors with variable-speed drives. However,...
Risky Business: Finding the Balance
When Tacoma Power's T&D group switched from an informal to a formal asset management program in 2009, it immediately saw a return on its time and resources...
Ice Sets the Rules
To meet the constantly increasing energy requirements of developing societies as well as industrialized countries, electrical infrastructure has to expand...
Business Developments
MISO Board Committee Endorses MTEP11
The System Planning Committee of MISO's board of directors has endorsed the MISO Transmission Expansion Plan 2011 (MTEP11), a comprehensive long-term...
Ausgrid Reveals Landmark CBD Building with Substation and Commercial Tower
As part of the Sydney CityGrid project, Ausgrid reveals plans for a new landmark building in the central business district (CBD) of Sydney, Australia,...
CPUC Orders SCE to Stop Transmission Line Work in Chino Hills
On Nov. 10, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) ordered Southern California Edison (SCE) to stop construction work in Chino Hills on the...
Study Reveals Energy Efficiency Could Lower U.S. Electricity Consumption by 5% to 15% Relative to Forecast Trends
A survey of 50 energy experts conducted by economists at The Brattle Group reveals that energy efficiency is likely to cause a drop of 5% to 15% in U.S....
GeoDigital Acquires Powel Inc.
Norway's Powel AS has sold the assets of its U.S. subsidiary Powel Inc. to digital mapping, imaging and data acquisition services firm GeoDigital International...
Smart Grid
Dr. Neuhaus Telekommunikation to Supply Belgium 36,000 Communication Gateways
Dr. Neuhaus Telekommunikation GmbH has been selected by EANDIS and INFRAX to provide smart communication gateways for a smart metering pilot project in...
Montana Enters the Smart Grid Age
As part of the Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration Project, KEMA and NorthWestern Energy are partnering to connect approximately 200 Montana utility...
DOE to Fund Study of Offshore Wind Grid Interconnection
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is providing funding for a team of leading energy organizations to perform a broad study that will assess the most...
Technology Updates
City of Weatherford Uses SMART Solution to Track Substation Performance
Weatherford, a western suburb of Fort Worth, Texas, U.S., is a family centric community with a tradition of planning for the future. To deliver clean,...
Oldcastle Precast Supplies Products for Camp Pendleton's Base-wide Communications and Electrical Systems Upgrades
Oldcastle Precast is in the process of manufacturing and installing 461 precast concrete manholes and pull boxes for the communications system upgrades...
GE Offers Community-Owned Utilities Opportunity for Grid Modernization
Electric Cities of Georgia (ECG), GE Energy and the city of Norcross, Georgia, U.S., are working together to deploy advanced technologies to modernize...
Ventyx to Provide Efficient DMS Tools for the Lyse Group
Ventyx, an ABB company, announces a new software license contract that will contribute to reliable power distribution for the Lyse Group, an energy and...
UtiliVisor to Provide Submetering Services for New York Hotel
UtiliVisor has been awarded a contract to provide a customized submetering solution at the Setai, a new mixed-use hotel/condo building in Manhattan. Located...
Quarterly Report
Veterans Enter Energy Workforce
In the next five years, nearly 40% of the nation's energy workforce may be eligible for retirement or leave their jobs due to attrition. As a result,...
Characters with Character
Taking Heart
Dan Holverson may be 56 years old, but he is in better physical shape than most men half his age. The director of applications systems at Orlando Utilities...
Straight Talk
Sensing a Smarter Future
Crawling along a simulated overhead transmission line shield wire at roughly 1 mph (1.6 kmph), a robot called is moving us closer to realizing the promise...
Products and Services
Revenue-Class Power-Quality Meter
GE announces its new revenue-class power-quality meter, the Multilin EPM 7000. With high-accuracy disturbance-recording capabilities and large memory...
Electrical Test Equipment Catalogue
With essential details of more than 100 of the latest and most innovative instruments for test applications in the electrical power sector, the new short-form...
Rugged Notebooks
GammaTech Durabook rugged notebooks are durable, reliable and rigorously tested. They stand up to the most demanding situations, whether in the field,...
Circuit Breaker Monitoring System
ISA introduces the CB MONITOR system, a cost-effective on-line diagnostic system specifically designed to monitor up to 10 medium-voltage and high-voltage...
Projection Module
Barco's 80-inch (203-cm) OVL-815 LED-lit projection system has been enhanced with a liquid cooling system, lifting the LED illumination to a new level...
Dual-Surface Labels
Uticom Systems has released a new label that will adhere to painted and unpainted metal, fiberglass and rotational or injection-molded HDPE. Utilities...
Hand Tools
Wright Tool has expanded its Cougar Pro line of professional-grade hand tools with the addition of the combination wrench and reversible-ratcheting combination...
Line Winder and Puller
The HPLW-1004 4-Drum Pilot Line Winder/Puller is compact, hydraulic powered and now available with an operator cab. The deck rotates 360 degrees, locking...
Protection Testing Library
The new OMICRON PTL (Protection Testing Library) provides test templates for a wide range of protection relays. These templates contain customizable test...
Electric Utility Operations
Shannon O'Driscoll Colorado Springs Utilities
Born in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Married to his wife, Catherine, for 16 years and has two daughters, Megan and Madison. Enjoys bicycle riding, hiking,...
Lineman Invents Shield to Protect Workers in Buckets
Seven years ago, a lineman was working in a bucket to change out an insulator on the middle phase of a three-phase line. He positioned his bucket between...
Crews Construct Lines for Renewable Energy
Construction crews on a Nevada transmission line project are confronting incomparable and diverse challenges. For example, this project is being built...
Xcel Energy Replaces Underground Transformer
Light rail trains transport passengers through downtown Minneapolis. Adjacent to the tracks, an underground vault houses four 115/13.8-kV transformers,...
Universal Voltmeter Kit
HD Electric Co. is introducing the DVM-80UVK Universal Voltmeter Kit as a new addition to the company's phasing voltmeter product line. The company has...
Modular DC Power System
Eltek Valere announced the Industrial Building Block (IBB) high-efficiency (HE) DC power systems designed for high-reliability 24-VDC to 220-VDC industrial...
Formed Wire Catalog
The recently released 57-page Anderson/Fargo by Hubbell Power Systems catalog gives a complete overview and ordering information for the many deadends...
Mulching Attachment
Fecon introduces several performance advancements in its new BH300 Bull Hog mulching attachment for 200-hp to 600-hp tractors. Situated between the BH250...
PartingSHOT
The International Lineman's Rodeo has been a tradition dating back to 1984. The original event focused on promoting safety, creating awareness of the...
