Electric Light & Power articles from January 2002

Electric Light & Power archives from January 2002

Terrorist act ripples change through nuclear industry.(heightened security at nuclear power plants in wake of Sept. 11)
January 1, 2002... The continued possibility of terrorism on the horizon has shaken the nuclear industry and its biggest regulator, but neither is giving in to doubt and rumors about the true safety and security of American nuclear power production. However, both...

Distribution utilities brace for increasing network complexity.(the integration of alternative power technology)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Industry experts have heralded the imminent and widespread adoption of alternative power technologies for years. As we move into 2002, it appears the dial is now leaning more toward "when" rather than "if" this prediction will come to fruition....

EL&P celebrates its 80th anniversary. (Commentary).(Electric Light & Power )(Brief Article)(Editorial)
January 1, 2002... We're all settling into the new year, which holds its usual promises of hope and uncertainties. For Electric Light & Power, 2002 is a banner year--it marks our 80th year. In 1922, the idea for Electric Light & Power led to its premier...

Nevada Power salutes Sargent & Lundy. (Transmission).(hires Sargent and Lundy to engineer transmission lines)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Nevada Power Co. has hired Sargent & Lundy to engineer nearly 100 miles of new 500 kV transmission lines. The project includes single and double circuit lines and will connect Nevada Power's Harry Allen switchyard to several existing...

Entergy joins SeTrans. (Transmission).(proposed Southeast RTO, SeTrans)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The Entergy Operating Companies have joined in the effort to develop the proposed Southeast RTO, SeTrans. Southern Company, City of Dalton Utilities, MEAG Power, South Mississippi Electric Power Association, City of Tallahassee, JEA, Santee...

Powerspan to move demonstration. (Projects & Contracts).(Powerspan Corp. and FirstEnergy Corp., moving scale demonstration)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Powerspan Corp. and FirstEnergy Corp. are moving the commercial scale demonstration of multi-pollutant control technology from FirstEnergy's Eastlake Plant in Eastlake, Ohio to FirstEnergy's R.E. Burger Plant in Shadyside, Ohio. The move stems...

Quanta to install pipeline. (Projects & Contracts).(Quanta Services Inc., pipeline for Enbridge Midcoast Energy)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... A subsidiary of Quanta Services Inc. has been contracted by Enbridge Midcoast Energy to build over 50 miles of gas pipeline in northwestern Alabama. The contract is worth approximately $23 million, and the resulting pipeline will provide gas...

NHPUC to sell Seabrook. (Mergers, Acquisitions).(New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission, Seabrook Station nuclear facility)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission (NHPUC) announced the auction of 88.2 percent of the ownership sales of Seabrook Station, a nuclear generating facility located in southeastern New Hampshire. The NHPUC has retained J.P. Morgan as...

Select Energy nabs Niagara. (Mergers, Acquisitions).(Niagara Mohawk Holdings Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... Select Energy Inc., the energy marketing and services subsidiary of Northeast Utilities, acquired 100 percent of the outstanding common stock of Niagara Mohawk Energy Marketing Inc. from Niagara Mohawk Holdings Inc. The purchase price was $38.5...

Atmos buys storage. (Mergers, Acquisitions).(ATMOS Energy Corp. buys pipeline)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Atmos Energy Holdings Inc. has completed acquisition of Kentucky-based storage and associated pipeline facility assets, known as the East Diamond Storage Field, for $13 million in cash. Additionally, a unit of Atmos recently acquired the gas...

CalEnergy sues SoCal. (Legal & Regulatory).(Southern California Edison)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Ca/Energy geothermal power plants have filed suit against Southern California Edison in Imperial County Superior Court. CalEnergy is asking that the court force SoCal Edison to abide by the terms of purchasing agreements for plants CalEnergy...

Arizona power plant gets OK. (Legal & Regulatory).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Arizona State Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee approved a certificate of environmental compatibility for a 1,000 MW plant to be built by Bowie Power Station. Operations are scheduled to commence in late 2004. The application...

ENMAX seeks rate approval. (Legal & Regulatory).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... ENMAX Power Corp. has applied to its regulator, Calgary City Council, to approve an interim one-year regulated rate option for residential and small to medium commercial customers in Calgary. ENMAX's proposed rate for energy is down 45 percent...

PG&E desires claim closure. (Deregulation).(Pacific Gas and Electric)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) has filed a motion in bankruptcy court asking for permission to proceed with the investigation, negotiation and settlement of certain pre-petition claims, including all of those under $100,000. Approximately 12,800...

Executive appointments. (News Briefs).(energy industry)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... EPRI: Richard L. Rudman has been named executive vice president. SPL WorldGroup: David Mulit is the chief operating officer; J. Guerry Waters is the chief technology officer. Peace Software: Patricia Moscarelli has been appointed vice...

Race against time.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Johnny Miller streaks around a corner at the Trans-Am Series 100 race at Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Fla. Eaton/Cutler-Hammer, manufacturer of electrical distribution and industrial control products, sponsors the Jaguar XKR. Photo...

Projected new capacity MW soars. (News).(US power plant capacity)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... Last year saw 95,600 MW of gas-fired capacity announced, along with the actual addition of 50,000 MW of the turbine-based variety, according to Energy Ventures Analysis' (EVA) latest study. The fall 2001 special report Tracking the Boom of...

Execs share views on nation's pause toward deregulation. (News).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... In a move that several prominent industry members assert is temporary, the nation as a whole is pausing to rethink its headlong rush into electric deregulation. Congress has postponed discussion on a major national electric deregulation...

Buckeye state's deregulation process hits glass ceiling. (State of Deregulation).(Ohio's energy industry)
January 1, 2002... Ohio's market has been open for approximately a year, and while there has been progress in the restructuring arena, that push forward seems to have reached a "plateau," as the spokeswoman for FirstEnergy labeled the current situation. Other...

Out of the ashes of Enron: Where do utilities go from here? (Executive Insights).(Brief Article)(Editorial)
January 1, 2002... As the utility industry sifts through the remains of the once powerful Enron, we are confronted with some uncomfortable questions about the direction of our industry. Certainly the California crisis and Enron's decent into history will...

Environmental regs retain hold on credit ratings. (Finance).(Fitch Inc. report, "Effect of Environmental Regulations on the Electric Power Industry: U.S., EU, Australia, and New Zealand")(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... How a company reacts to environmental regulations may not be the largest factor in assessing credit ratings, but for Fitch, it is becoming a more significant one. In one of their latest global power reports, entitled "Effect of...

Intergen completes financing on Miss. 900 MW plant. (Finance Briefs).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... InterGen announced the financial close of credit facilities for the Magnolia Energy Project, a 900 MW natural gas-fired, combined cycle power facility near Ashland, Miss. Magnolia is scheduled for commercial operations in July 2003. InterGen...

Sixth dimension closes $13M new equity funding round. (Finance Briefs).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Sixth Dimension closed a new, $13M round of private equity funding led by EnerTech Capital. Also participating in the funding were Shell Internet Ventures By; E.ON Venture Partners GmbH, an affiliate of E.ON AG, the international utility group;...

Nisource added to Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. (Finance Briefs).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... The Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) covers the top 10 percent of the largest 2,500 companies currently in the Dow Jones Global Index in terms of economic, environmental and social performance. NiSource is one of only three...

IPP stocks: Buckle up for a roller coaster ride. (Finance Briefs).(Calpine Corp., NRG Energy Inc., El Paso, Mirant)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... Calpine, NRG, El Paso and Mirant saw their stocks sink on Dec. 12, prompting a flurry of activity as companies took action to reassure nervous investors. The stocks rebounded in the afternoon on very heavy volume, in part due to reassuring...

Williams cuts capital spending, may trim outlook. (Finance Briefs).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... U.S. energy trader and pipeline operator Williams Cos. plans to cut 2002 capital spending by $1 billion to strengthen its balance sheet and may reduce year-over-year earnings growth targets because of the slowing economy and other factors....

Financing teams adopt new tools for asset valuation.(e-Acumen)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The activity in power plant development, divestment, and acquisition demands timely, sophisticated asset valuation. In response to the need for timely and comprehensive cost and market data, and using their own accumulated expertise and...

Abandoning traditional budgets beefs up value. (Industry Report on Capital Spending).(financial management in the utilities industry)
January 1, 2002... Excel might just be too one-dimensional for the sophisticated organization. Face it, it's a spreadsheet not a planner. It's imperative for organizations to align strategic planning with budgeting and remake the animal to survive in a more...

Customers mired in FERC ruling chaos, Enron collapse & post-Sept. 11 economic confusion. (Electric & Gas Trading).(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... Talk about a triple play. Up at bat, electric competition seems to be riddled by numerous anti-choice strikes, including new FERC standards, Enron's collapse and general post 9-11 malaise and economic confusion. Here's a quick rundown of the...

Infrastructure projects draw IT staff. (Information Technology).(electric utilities )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Energy companies demand for high-tech staff is hot and heavy, however..."Many electric utilities are focused on the non-sexy work of mergers and acquisitions, which have placed a heavy burden on their IT departments," according to David Putt,...

NY certifies IMServ. (IT Briefs).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The State of New York granted IMServ certification to act as a meter data service provider (MDSP). The certification entitles IMServ to participate fully in load curtailment and other related energy management projects throughout the state and...

Elcom releases upgrade. (IT Briefs).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... elcom inc., the wholly-owned e-procurement and e-marketplace solutions subsidiary of Elcom International Inc. released PECOS Version 8.0. The upgrade includes enhancements to facilitate multi-organizational administration and data viewing...

GE sticks with Sopheon. (IT Briefs).(Sopheon PLC contract with General Electric Co.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Sopheon, an international knowledge management software and services company, signed a new four-year contract with General Electric (GE) under which GE will continue to outsource its information management services to Sopheon. The contract...

ABB software breaks the 40,000-bus barrier for northeastern U.S. model. (Information Technology).(ABB Inc. software running successfully)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... ABB Inc. announced that the firm's security constrained unit commitment (SCUC) software has been run successfully using a 40,000-bus model that encompasses the entire northeastern U.S. and major portions of WSCC. Anticipating the need for...

Smooth plant O&M rests on the shoulders of good people. (Technology).(power plant operations and maintenance, observations)
January 1, 2002... Danny Morton, Central Cluster Manager for Southern Company, and Rick Deese, general manager of technical services for Duke Energy, agree about both the biggest hurdles and greatest assets in plant operations and maintenance (O&M), as if they've...

Instep replaces monitoring systems. (Tech Briefs).(Industrial Peer-to-Peer Inc. develops software)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Industrial Peer-to-Peer, a wholly-owned subsidiary of InStep Software, has developed RadServ, a software-based monitoring solution for the nuclear industry. RadServ, which runs on the Windows operating system, maintains an online history of all...

Wartsila garners contracts. (Tech Briefs).(Wartsila North America Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Wartsila North America, a subsidiary of Helsinki, Finland-based Wartsila Corp., has won two contracts worth $20 million combined for its PeakingPlus power plants, a reciprocating engine power plant design offered in the gas-fired intermediate...

Customer ambivalence hinders E-billing potential. (Customer Systems).(electronic billing; electric utilities)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... E Billing may promise rewards to utilities, but it won't mean exodus from the paper chase. Paper billing has been around and will stay around for utilities and they cant charge extra for it. But the sunk costs of paper aren't as eye-catching as...

Households remain loyal to energy suppliers. (Customers Systems).(US consumer behavior survey; electric utilities safety)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... Despite the events of September 11 and ongoing concerns about air safety, the economy and domestic security, a major new survey indicated that Americans are regaining their positive outlook and resuming their normal living and spending...

Direct Energy chooses Peace. (CS Briefs).(Direct Energy Marketing, Ltd. to use Peace Software's Energy suite)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Direct Energy Marketing, Ltd. chose Peace Software's Energy suite to manage its customers in 10 electricity and gas markets in North America. Direct Energy, a retail energy company, has more than 1.5 million customers in North America and plans...

SPL gains ground with Siebel. (CS Briefs).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... SPL WorldGroup Inc., upgraded its level of participation in the Siebel Alliance Program to Premier Software Partner. SPL and Siebel Systems have developed a joint business plan and will be working closely together to deliver solutions to the...

Eirtricity selects SchiumbergerSema. (CS Briefs).(for second generation billing system)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... SchlumbergerSema was selected by Ireland's eirtricity to provide a second generation billing system to support the company's expansion plans under the deregulation process. The SchlumbergerSema solution is the first of its type to be...

Parks predicts fair skies for broadband. (CS Briefs).(Internet service survey)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... A new survey from Parks Associates indicated that of the 46 million residential dial-up Internet subscribers in the U.S., the vast majority, almost 75 percent, are content with the quality of their Internet service. This research, part of Parks...

LP&L goes live with SCT. (CS Briefs).(Lubbock Power & Light uses SCT's customer management software)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Lubbock Power & Light (LP&L) went live with SCT's Banner Customer Management Suite (CMS), a solution that lets LP&L compete and meet the needs of deregulation for the 60,000 electric, 62,361 garbage, 63,721 sewer and 62,935 water customers they...

Get out of that rut. (Management Methods).(management advice)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... For a manager, too regular a routine can be counterproductive. Why? Because the rewards and satisfactions of real innovation come to those who open their minds the widest to fresh ideas. There are three ways to expose yourself to fresh...