Electric Light & Power articles from February 2002

Electric Light & Power archives from February 2002

Companies on the prowl for IT security.
February 1, 2002... Nobody wants to talk about insurance, but they want to minimize risk. Paying for information security, like buying insurance, is not feeding a cash cow. But returns come in the form of cost avoidance, sound strategy, and heightened awareness....

Time to get serious about time-of-use rates.(electricity industry)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Product and service prices that vary by time of use (TOU) are neither new to the electricity industry nor uncommon in everyday life. Examples include telephone service, air travel, theater tickets and parking. Charles TOU electricity...

Liars and Cheaters revisited. (Commentary).(corruption in Enron's downfall)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
February 1, 2002... They like to do things BIG in Texas, and Enron isn't about to disappoint anyone. The web of questionable actions and practices seems to be spreading widely into unexpected places, implicating unexpected players. At least six congressional...

Letters.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Animosity & greed top changes in thinking I just read your commentary [Cognitive Restructuring] in the December 2001 issue of EL&P. All I can say is, "Knock 'em on their butts!" I have been an engineer in the industry for 12 years. I...

Putting deregulation in focus after Enron. (Guest Commentary).(deregulation of electric industry)
February 1, 2002... The recent collapse of Enron triggered concern about the long-term outlook for electric deregulation in North America. If the largest energy trader in the world could not make a go of it, how could anyone else? But as the dust settles, the...

Former DOE CIP director advises industry about infrastructure protection. (View from the Top).(Dr. Paula Scalingi formerly of Department of Energy's Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection)(Interview)
February 1, 2002... Dr. Paula Scalingi knows infrastructure. As the founder and former director of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP), she took a hard look at America's energy infrastructure daily. Today, Dr....

Savvy real estate management translates into revenue. (Finance).(electric utilities financial management)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... In the brave new world of deregulation, many electric utilities have not formulated corporate strategies to convert the "hidden" value in their underutilized real estate assets into a corporate growth platform. To get the most from their real...

Project finance: Casualty of the leveraged business model?(energy industry)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Boston A new synthesis for the power business is emerging from the concurrent death of the extreme leverage business model, the slowdown in project-financed growth in the generation business, FERC's redefinition of market power, and the...

S&P's 2002 electricity outlook weak. (Finance Briefs).(Standard & Poor's)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... In mid-January, Standard & Poor's reported a negative near-term outlook for electric companies and the natural gas industry, even though the credit ratings agency expects earnings to increase modestly in 2002. Electric power company earnings...

Companies nix new generation plans. (Finance Briefs).(Calpine Corp., Duke Energy Corp., and PPL Corp.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... Calpine Corp. slashed earnings projections for 2002 by 30 percent and put on hold construction of 34 power plants (about 15,000 MW), cutting $2 billion from expected capital spending in 2002. One reason cited was the difficulty of obtaining...

Energy defaults drove up unpaid debt to record 2001. (Finance Briefs).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... Defaults by Southern California Edison Co., Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and Enron accounted for nearly 20 percent of all 2001's defaults. S&P reported total annual corporate defaults exceeded 200 for the first time last year, with 211 issuers...

California, Pennsylvania deregulation falls into legal limbo. (Industry Report on Deregulation).(electric utility regulation)
February 1, 2002... The headlines have been screaming for over a year about the pros and cons of deregulation, and no two states have held more symbolic positions in that debate than Pennsylvania and California-the alpha and omega of electric restructuring. ...

Corporate risk management: a new world opportunity after Enron. (Electric & Gas Trading).(energy utilities management)
February 1, 2002... With the advent of deregulation, energy utilities have had to transform themselves from cost-plus dinosaurs into high performance enterprises in order to stay competitive. This year, utilities will find an additional requirement placed on their...

Neutrality at the structured desk sets new marketplace apart. (Electric & Gas Trading).(new online energy trader, E-lecTrade Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... While Enron picked up the pieces of its energy trading business, and ICE scooped up a majority of the disenfranchised players, E-lecTrade boldly opened the doors to it's new trading desk. E-lecTrade Inc.'s neutral, anonymous online transaction...

New pipeline serves Fla. (E&GT Briefs).(Gulfstream Natural Gas System LLC )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Gulfstream Natural Gas System LLC (Houston) began construction on the 753-mile long Gulfstream pipeline in July of 2001. Once completed in June 2002, Gulfstream will be the largest pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico and will initially transport 1.1...

TradeSpark adds to online suite. (E&GT Briefs).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... TradeSpark LP added hourly power and Balance of the Day instruments in all regions to its suite of online products. TradeSpark is the first multi-latearl, neutral exchange to offer these products to the market. TradeSpark will initially offer...

Technology redefines a mature market through convergence. (Information Technology).(utilities industry)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The utilities industry is in the throes of converging into a structure in which single source utility and infrastructure providers will offer better quality products and services, faster implementation and an overall lower cost of delivery. The...

CES International partners with Krohm. (IT Briefs).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... In an effort to accelerate delivery time on software projects, CES International, developer of operations management software for utilities, partnered with India-based Krohm Solutions, a utility-focused, software services company with offshore...

Square D releases POWERLOGIC. (IT Briefs).(new information server)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Square D released POWERLOGIC Power Server, an unattended device to improve energy data collection and provide Web interface. The self-contained facility information server can provide local monitoring as a stand-alone system, as gateway...

CL&P selects Powerweb. (IT Briefs).(Connecticut Light and Power Co.'s wireless thermostat contract)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Powerweb Technologies contracted with the Connecticut Light and Power Co. (CL&P) to develop and deploy a low cost wireless thermostat which will be beneficial to both residential and small commercial customers. The new thermostats use OmniLink...

RG&E selects Tangram. (IT Briefs).(Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation's contract for Enterprise Insight software)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... New York-based Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation (RG&E) selected Tangram Enterprise Solutions Inc.'s Enterprise Insight to optimize their ongoing lifecycle asset management program. Enterprise Insight will be a component in RG&E's...

COGNICASE and M3i join forces. (IT Briefs).(COGNICASE to buy M3i Systems Inc. from Hydro-Quebec)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... In a move that will uplift and change the shape of solution provisioning for energy, telecommunications, and public security companies, COGNICASE signed a letter of intent to acquire M3i Systems Inc. from Hydro-Quebec. Once this transaction...

Enerwise acquires Datapult. (IT Briefs).(Enerwise Global Technologies)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Enerwise Global Technologies acquired Datapult LLC from American Electric Power Co. Inc. Datapult's offerings complement and extend the Enerwise portfolio and provide additional products and services for a broader set of commercial and...

Predicting the market potential for distributed generation. (Technology).(power utilities)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... In the current environment of increasing deregulation, the expansion potential of distributed generation (DG) systems is quite substantial. However, the spread of DG will vary substantially by region and technology. Those markets set to...

DG and Ride-Through Technologies could solve grid reliability problems. (Technology).("The North American Market for Grid Power Solutions: Distributed Generation (DG) & Ride-Through Technologies" research)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The grid is 99.9 percent reliable, which sounds fabulous. Yet, it leaves almost nine hours of downtime per year that end users must contend with, and, for some industries, it can be a hardship. There are, however, a number of options available...

Electro Industries introduces meter. (Technology).(Electro Indutries/GaugeTech's DMMS 350 three-phase power meter)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Electro Indutries/GaugeTech, a strategic partner of General Electric, has introduced the DMMS 350 three-phase power meter with built in Ethernet LAN connectivity. The meter provides access to all voltage, current and power valves and reports...

ABB provides gear for TVA. (Tech Briefs).(Tennessee Valley Authority)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... ABB will provide the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) with gas-insulated switchgear equipment for the Pinhook electricity station near Nashville, Tenn. Under the terms of the contract, the new substation will be operational by July 2003.

Revenue exists with differentiation and culture change. (Customer Systems).(energy industry)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... While the traditional grid system is struggling to provide clean, reliable power, energy service providers who differentiate their services and embrace a 180 degree turn from the usual selling perspective will find new customers and new...

PCS enhances fuel cell power. (Customer Systems).(SatCon Power Systems' StarSine Power Conditioning System )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Cambridge, Mass. Sub-megawatt fuel cell power plants could provide both grid-independent and grid-parallel supplemental power for use in a variety of commercial and industrial (C&I) applications, from on-site power generation to offsetting...

Docucorp introduces new tools. (CS Briefs).(new document system, Docuflex)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Docucorp introduced Docuflex, a production-class design, personalization and creation system that can deliver an unlimited number of complex, personalized documents for both Internet and print. Docuflex enables users in the utilities and...

Bangor Hydro selects Pitney Bowes. (CS Briefs).(electronic bill system contract)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Pitney Bowes Inc. will host the electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) site for Bangor Hydro-Electric, a regulated electricity transmission and distribution company serving 110,000 customers in central and eastern Maine. Pitney Bowes'...

CP&L unveils Appliance Service Plus. (CS Briefs).(Carolina Power and Light Co.'s deal with General Electric-Zurich Warranty Management Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... CP&L teamed up with General Electric-Zurich Warranty Management Inc. to offer qualified, authorized repair professionals as part of its Appliance Service Plus program. The program is underwritten by American Zurich Insurance Co. CP&L's new...

In praise of memos. (Management Methods).(energy industry management)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Properly used, the memo can be a powerful communications tool. Besides making things clearer, memos establish a record and contribute to more effective business relationships. With a memo you can be absolutely sure that a request and due date...

Man arrested for threats. (Legal & Regulatory).(employee of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... A former nuclear plant worker was arrested in January. Supposedly the man had made terrorist threats against plant employees at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, which is owned by Southern California Edison.

DOE notifies Nevada of Yucca Mtn. thumbs up. (Legal & Regulatory).(nuclear waste dump site)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham notified Nevada governor Kenny Guinn that he intends to recommend to President Bush that the Yucca Mountain site is scientifically sound and suitable for development as the nation's long-term geological...

NU sells assets to Holyoke. (Mergers, Acquisitions).(Northeast Utilities sells hydro-electric dam to Holyoke Gas & Electric)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Holyoke Water Power Co. (HWP), a subsidiary of Northeast Utilities (NU), has completed the sale of its Hadley Falls hydro-electric dam to Holyoke Gas & Electric (HG&E) for approximately $17.5 million. The transaction also includes the...

Progress Energy subsidiary to purchase gas assets. (Mergers, Acquisitions).(Progress Ventures Inc. to acquire gas assets from Westchester Gas Co.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Progress Ventures Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Progress Energy, has entered into a letter of intent with Westchester Gas Co. to acquire approximately 215 producing gas wells, 52 miles of intrastate pipeline and 170 miles of gas gathering...