Celebrating 75 Years of T&D World: Empowering Utilities Through Innovation, Resilience, and Community
T&D World has been there throughout the years as our readers have restored, rebuilt, and recovered from devastating storms. We have been there through crises, technological breakthroughs and a pandemic.
This year we are celebrating our 75th anniversary in print and are still going strong. We consider ourselves for utilities, by utilities, as T&D World will continue to give a voice to utilities to share best practices and lessons learned in order to not only keep the lights on right now, but to be able to transition the grid with all the changes in technology, climate and regulations. Utilities HAVE to be able to learn from one another and T&D World’s magazine, website and event will continue to help you do that.
As I pored over archived issues and digital stories, I enjoyed diving into the rich history that T&D World has covered. When I first joined the editorial team as an intern in the mid-90s, T&D World’s editorial staff had recently won a NEAL award (which I was told was like a Pulitzer for trade journalism) for their in-depth article on the science vs hysteria on EMFs. We have covered the Enron crisis; we did special issues on the Northeast blackout, Katrina, and Sandy.
Our editors embedded with utility crews after Katrina, Ike, Sandy and Harvey, to report from the front lines. When wildfires became a devastating, continuing problem, we launched a Wildfire Mitigation supplement and regularly share utilities’ best practices for grid hardening and resiliency. We covered the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on utilities, electricity demand, and field workers. When Winter Storm Uri hit, we shared stories debunking misinformation in social media, and Technical Editor Gene Wolf reported the facts from the engineer’s perspective.
The People
When I joined T&D World in 1996, it was two years after Editor-in-Chief Rick Bush came to the magazine after a 22-year engineering career with Georgia Power. Mike Eby had also recently joined the crew from Florida Power & Light. They brought T&D World into the new millennium, adding an automation editor, Chuck Newton, in 1995 and an international editor, Gerry George, in 1996, reflecting ever-changing technology and a more global focus on energy. Mike Eby eventually moved over to another magazine in 1999, Electrical Construction & Maintenance. Then came “Uncle” Vito Longo, with his attention to detail and quality. Rick retired in 2019. Sadly, Vito and Gerry have since passed away.
In 2021, Teresa Hansen took over leading T&D World as VP of content after 25 years as editor-in-chief of Electric Light & Power and heading the conference for DistribuTECH. She worked with our events team to launch T&D World Live, an event that is an extension of T&D World’s editorial history, coverage and leadership. She retired this past year, but she has left a strong, hardworking group of editors and contributors who will continue the purpose “for utilities, by utilities.”
Another team member who I must mention and thank is Susan Lakin. She has been the art director for T&D World since 1992, amazingly and beautifully illustrating our articles and covers. She is a one-of-a-kind designer. She reads all of the articles and sees beauty in the substations, power lines and components of the power delivery business. She really is the one who makes us look good.
Each of these editors brought their own passions and personality to T&D World, continuing the tradition of gathering and creating articles that help utilities navigate their daily operations while preparing and moving into the future. I am proud to be a part of this brand, now more than a magazine. It is a website, newsletters, an event, and a community. We are here to help electrify and keep the world electrified safely and securely.
Reflections
In the meantime, enjoy our issue looking back on the past 75 years. Gene Wolf first covers what has happened in the past 25 years in smart grid technology advancements. Then in our cover story, Managing Editor Jeff Postelwait explores the regulatory environment and utility business over the past 75 years.
Our Timeline of Electricity Milestones, events that shaped our industry, starts on page 24. And retired Editor-in-Chief Rick Bush remembers technological initiatives and innovations that worked, and some that maybe didn’t quite take off.
But as I mentioned, we’re not done. We have a lot more work to do, and we are here to celebrate your projects and wins and, when our industry has trials, what we can learn from to be better. So if you have a story to tell, let us know, we will share it, if you have questions and concerns, let us know so we can help find out the answers and solutions.
