Electric Light & Power articles from July 2002

Electric Light & Power archives from July 2002

'Round-trip' trading leads to one-way exits for execs.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... What started out as a probe into the fluctuations of the California energy market has expanded into an all-out SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) investigation into the trading practices of handfuls of top-level energy companies. The...

Analysts hunt for bias in NERC forecasts.(North American Electric Reliability Council)
July 1, 2002... Every year, the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) collates and summarizes the forecasts of individual utilities in each region, and publishes the results on a diskette entitled Electric Supply and Demand. NERC does not comment...

Switching into the fast lane. (Commentary).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Our industry has not been viewed as one eager to embrace change. Besides, for most of the last few decades, there really weren't many reasons to make hasty changes--long-term plans were crafted within a gradual, long-term context. Lately,...

AEP joins PJM. (Transmission).(American Electric Power; PJM Interconnection)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... American Electric Power and the PJM Interconnection have entered into a memorandum of understanding that would provide for AEP to join PJM. AEP expects to transfer functional control of its transmission facilities in its seven eastern states...

FirstEnergy joins Midwest ISO. (Transmission).(Independent Transmission System Operator)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... FirstEnergy Corp. subsidiary American Transmission Systems has entered into a memorandum of understanding to join the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator. The memorandum will allow American Transmission Systems to participate in...

Open season at Lake Erie. (Transmission).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Hydro One Delivery Services Inc. and TransEnergie U.S. Ltd. announced the open season of the Lake Erie link project The sale of transmission rights will be managed through a three-phase open season. Phase one opened in June and includes the...

Allegheny builds Indiana plant. (Projects & Contracts).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Allegheny Energy Supply, the generating and trading subsidiary of Allegheny Energy Inc., has begun construction of a 630 MW natural gas, combined-cycle generating facility in St. Joseph County, Ind. The output from the facility will support...

Sargent & Lundy garners contract. (Projects & Contracts).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Sargent & Lundy LLC has been awarded a contract by Salt River Project to perform engineering, procurement support, construction support and startup support for the Santan Expansion Project. The new 825 MW combustion turbine combined-cycle...

Washington Group selected by W.E. Power. (Projects & Contracts).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Washington Group International has been selected to provide engineering, procurement and construction services to W.E. Power LLC for a new 500 MW, combined-cycle, natural gas-fueled power plant to be built at Port Washington, Wis.

EPA unveils New Source Review changes. (Guest Commentary).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... On June 13, 2002, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released recommended changes to New Source Review (NSR), the major air pollution permitting program that applies to most power plant projects. It appears that the recommended...

Transmission technology available, regulatory roadblock stall implementation. (News).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... To maintain reliability and provide consumers with the benefits of competitively priced electricity, additional investments are required to expand transmission capacity and eliminate bottle-necks. This capacity can be developed by expanding...

PSE&G, El Paso announce restructuring. (Projects & Contracts).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... PSE&G, a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group, and El Paso Merchant Energy, a subsidiary of El Paso Corp., have amended their non-utility generation power purchase agreements for El Paso's Camden, Bayonne and Eagle Point cogeneration...

Framatome acquires Duke Engineering. (Mergers & Acquisitions).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Framatome ANP, an AREVA and Siemens Co., has completed its purchase of Duke Engineering & Services, a subsidiary of Duke Energy Corp. The purchase includes three former business groups of Duke Engineering & Services: nuclear, federal, and...

Aquila gets Avon. (Mergers & Acquisitions).
July 1, 2002... FirstEnergy Corp. has completed the sale of a 79.9 percent interest in its Avon Energy Partners Holdings subsidiary to Aquila Inc. for approximately $264 million. As a result of this transaction, Avon's debt of approximately $1.7 billion will...

Dominion, Mirant complete sale. (Mergers & Acquisitions).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Mirant has completed the sale of Mirant State Line Ventures to Dominion for approximately $182 million. Through the sale, Dominion acquires 100 percent ownership of the assets from Mirant, including the 515 MW, coal-fired State Line power plant...

Andersen found guilty. (Legal & Regulatory).
July 1, 2002... Accounting firm Arthur Andersen has been found guilty of obstruction of justice, facing probation and a fine up to $500,000. The obstruction charge stems from Andersen's dealings with Enron and subsequent shredding of related documents. At...

NERC supports reliability legislation. (Legal & Regulatory).(North American Electric Reliability Council)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... NERC sent a letter in support of reliability legislation to the Senate conferees and relevant leaders in the House of Representatives on behalf of a number of industry, state and consumer groups, including the American Public Power Assn.,...

AES Corp. (Executive Appointments).
July 1, 2002... Co-founder and CEO Dennis W. Bakke stepped down; Paul T. Hanrahan is the new president and CEO.

Utility Automation Integrators. (Executive Appointments).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Craven Crowell, former chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority, has joined the board of directors.

FirstEnergy Nuclear. (Executive Appointments).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Gary R. Leidich is executive vice president; Lew W. Myers is chief operating officer. L. William Pearce has been promoted to vice president; Mark B. Bezilla is vice president.

Allegheny Energy. (Executive Appointments).
July 1, 2002... Peter J. Dailey and Terence A. Burka have been named vice presidents.

Black & Veatch. (Executive Appointments).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... William Fredrickson is vice president of sales and marketing.

Energy Group International. (Executive Appointments).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Robert E. Ross joins to company as managing partner.

Itron. (Executive Appointments).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Leroy Nosbaum has been elected chairman.

Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). (Executive Appointments).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Mike Greene is the new chairman; Bob Manning is vice chair.

American Electric Power. (Executive Appointments).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Michael J. Assante has joined the company as vice president and chief information security officer.

Merchants stay strong on proposed capacity. (News).(Merchant plants,generating stations financed by investors willing to accept market risks associated with start-up and operation)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2002... The amount of planned capacity additions by merchant plant developers is still moving upward--despite the economic setbacks that the last year has brought-- according to numbers released by the Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA). ...

Businesses willing to put money into energy-related products. (News).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... North Salem, N.Y. U.S. businesses, increasingly dependent on sensitive electronic equipment and processes, are willing to invest more in power-saving products and services and energy self-sufficiency, according to a new national survey....

Interactive simulation preps employees for deregulation. (News).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Now more than ever, it's clear that power companies' success in competitive electricity or non-traditional business markets depends heavily on employees' understanding of the changes they must make to help their company prosper. With the right...

Enron bankruptcy judge gives nod to severance. (News).(severance package for 4,200 former Enron employees)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... In late June, the judge for Enron's bankruptcy granted preliminary approval on a severance package for 4,200 former Enron employees. The decision means workers will begin receiving an initial payment of $2000, unless they opt out of the...

European project financing faces regulatory roulette. (Finance).(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2002... Since the introduction of market liberalization in the European power sector, the financing of new power plants has been difficult for new entrants due to a combination of low power prices and market domination by the incumbent companies....

Dynegydirect on hold. (Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Dynegy announced on June 20 a temporary shutdown of its Dynegydirect online trading interface until market conditions improve. It noted the recent dramatic drop in trading liquidity as the basis for its decision. Williams Capital Group's Chris...

Specialized teams to scrutinize corporate credit. (Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Moody's Investors Service plans to introduce dedicated teams of specialists, with relevant professional backgrounds, to augment its existing staff of credit analysts. Moody's intends to apply greater analytical focus and commit additional...

Calif. wind energy project secures S54.5M financing. (Briefs).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2002... Cabazon Wind Partners LLC's 41 MW wind energy project in the San Gorgonio Pass near Palm Springs, Calif., has secured senior construction debt financing of $54.5M from the New York branch of Bayerische Landesbank Girozentrale (BLB), Munich,...

U.S. power industry facing long, difficult journey to competition shangri-la. (Industry Report).
July 1, 2002... The writing is on the wall: Texas is the hands-down deregulation leader. No one is disputing that. In fact, consultants XENERGY recently sent out a release declaring Texas the "king of retail electric competition" in the U.S. However,...

Taking care of risky business: credit risk management in spot markets. (Electric & Gas Trading).
July 1, 2002... As deregulation progresses, multilateral spot markets are becoming firmly established as the predominant model for spot trading of electricity. Most multilateral spot markets use a participant-backed risk pool to underwrite all trading. As a...

IDACORP winds down power marketing. (Briefs).(not seeking new customers)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... IDACORP Energy won't be seeking new customers and will limit its maximum value at risk limits to less than $3M. Staff reductions of about 50 percent are targeted over the next 18 months. During this same time period, IDACORP is aiming for a...

Aquila backs off energy trading. (Briefs).(predicts operating earnings at 30 percent less than estimate; cuts annual dividend from $1.20 to 70 cents a share)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2002... Aquila plans to scale back its participation in the energy trading business, predicting operating earnings about 30 percent less than the consensus estimate of $2 a share. The company is also cutting its annual divident from $1.20 to 70 cents a...

Europe's energy traders revise contracts. (Briefs).(ensuring against Enron-style disasters)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... With the exit of Enron, Europe's biggest gas and power trader, many of its trading partners face multi-million dollar losses. Energy dealers across Europe, worried about the stability of U.S. trading partners, are rewriting the terms of...

Credit worries hit Canada's natural gas market. (Briefs).(Aquila and Engage Energy closing Canadian operations)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... As credit concerns eliminate more natural gas marketers in Canada, the United States' biggest gas supplier, those left are finding it increasingly hard to play the game. Aquila and Engage Energy, two of Canada's top gas and power marketers,...

Power quality, continuity drive businesses' site selections. (Technology).
July 1, 2002... The increased dependence of modern industry on reliable power has shifted the site selection criteria from "available capacity" to "capacity and reliability." As such, industrial concerns have begun to evaluate energy suppliers on their ability...

American Superconductor receives order. (Briefs).(D-VAR voltage regulation system for a wind farm application)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... American Superconductor Corp., a supplier of superconductor products and power electronic converters, and GE Industrial Systems, a business of the General Electric Co., announced the first sale of American Superconductor's new D-VAR voltage...

Idaho Power deploys voltage, outage monitoring system. (Briefs).(from Telemetric)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Idaho Power Co. has purchased and installed Telemetric Line Voltage Monitor (TVM1) products in several regions of its distribution system. The products are provided by Telemetric Corp. The Telemetric TVM1 reports steady state voltages, voltage...

LIPA to install fuel cells. (Briefs).(Long Island Power Authority)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) will begin the installation of 17 Plug Power Inc. fuel cells at several commercial and municipal customer locations on Long Island this summer. The 5 kW fuel cells will be interconnected to LIPA's grid and...

NxtPhase commissions optical sensing at APS. (Briefs).(Arizona Public Service)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... NxtPhase Corp., developer of digital and fiber optic solutions, has installed a 230 kV NXVCT optical sensing system at the Arizona Public Service (APS) Deer Valley substation in Phoenix. The system is connected via a low energy signal to an...

ICF calls for [NO.sub.x] control caution. (Briefs).(ICF Consulting [NO.sub.x] Outlook 2002)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Power companies may be prematurely sinking billions into nitrogen oxide ([NO.sub.x]) pollution control equipment in the face of tremendous financial, regulatory and market uncertainty, according to a new study released by ICF Consulting....

Should IT play a role in [NO.sub.x] compliance? (Information Technology).
July 1, 2002... The 21st Century power plant is a chemical plant that happens to produce electricity. "Why would I use software to do my hardware's job?" is a question I frequently get asked when broaching the topic of IT's role in [NO.sub.x] compliance....

KUA contest produces first winner. (Briefs).(Kissimmee Utility Authority)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Aric Stoots of Kissimmee was $90.51 richer after visiting the Web site of Kissimmee Utility Authority one night. He woke up to discover he didn't have to pay his utility bill for the month. Stoots was one of ten utility customers who had their...

Intergraph grows in North America. (Briefs).(welcomes four new partners in Team GeoMedia program)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Intergraph Mapping and GIS Solutions welcomed four new companies to its Team GeoMedia program. e-Mapping Solutions and Integrated Desktop Solutions have joined as registered solutions providers, and GeoDecisions and Ruekert/Mielke have come...

Excelergy rolls out latest. (Briefs).(Excelergy eXACT 5.1)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Excelergy recently released the newest version of its collaboration and information exchange software product Excelergy eXACT 5.1. Excelergy eXACT is currently operational at Hydro One Networks, ACN Energy, Powercor Australia and American...

BOW to provide Hydro Ottawa. (Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Hydro Ottawa has selected BOW Networks' eLAN communications platform for a communications project that will bring together the EMS/SCADA systems of all its recently amalgamated operating companies. The software will be integrated on a series of...

Toronto Hydro implements Mincom. (Briefs).(software)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Mincom has successfully implemented Mincom Ellipse, its enterprise management suite of maintenance, materials, financials, human resources and accounting/payroll at Toronto Hydro.

Meridium announces new application. (Briefs).(System Reliability)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Meridium announced a new application, System Reliability. According to the company, the new capability allows executives to improve enterprise reliability, availability and profitability by measuring the reliability of plant systems, predicting...

GE integrates technology. (Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... GE Network Solutions has launched "Smallworld on Oracle Workspace Manager." This new version of the Smallworld Core Spatial Technology application now manages long transactions by directly supporting Oracle9i Workspace Manager, a feature of...

CES International acquires Enermetrix. (Customer Systems).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... CES International, a provider of energy-delivery and network-management software for distribution utilities, announced that it has acquired Enermetrix, a developer of energy software solutions including the world's leading retail energy...

Atmos Energy launches Web site to support 770 assistance agencies. (Customer Systems).(that help low-income customers pay bills)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Atmos Energy Corp. is launching a new self-service Web site to help nearly 770 energy assistance agencies across its 11-state service area assist low-income customers in paying their natural gas bills. Energy assistance agencies distribute...

Conversant introduces object-oriented CIS. (Briefs).(corporate information system)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Conversant Inc. introduced its Customer Watch software, a Java solution that handles customer and account management, complex rate structures, customer billing and usage management, credit and collections, inventory management, service order...

SCT utilizes Oracle9i application server. (Briefs).(SCT Global Energy and Utilities Solutions)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... SCT Global Energy and Utilities Solutions announced that the latest version of the SCT Customer Management Solution set--Banner Advantage CIS and CRM Essentials--incorporates Oracle9i application server (Oracle9iAS) architecture as its...

PECO signs with TFCC. (Briefs).(Twenty First Century Communications Inc.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... PECO implemented a high volume call answering system and enhanced its call center with new automation that can process up to 50,000 customer calls per hour. The system is provided by Twenty First Century Communications Inc., Columbus, Ohio. The...

CustomerWorks selects Peace Software. (Briefs).(license)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... CustomerWorks has licensed Peace Software's Energy suite as the preferred CIS platform for its Business Process Outsourcing services targeted at North American utilities, municipalities and retail energy companies. The browser-based Energy...

Pepco selects Powerweb. (Briefs).(Potomac Electric Power Co.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Potomac Electric Power Co. purchased Powerweb Technologies' Omni-Link Internet Energy Platform to replace an existing system that operates the company's Curtailable Load Program (CLP) for large commercial customers. Omni-Link will allow Pepco...

Know your people. (Management Methods).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Like snowflakes, no two people are exactly alike. And the more you know them as individuals, the better the job you can do of appraising, coaching, and placing them in jobs suited to their abilities. But can you tick off the strengths and...

Calendar events.
July 1, 2002... JULY July 28-Aug. 2 HydroVision 2002 HCI Publications (816/931-1311), Portland, Ore. July 31-Aug. 2 COAL-GEN 2002 PennWell Confs. & Exhibitions (888/299-8016), www.coal-gen.com, St Louis AUGUST Aug. 1-2 T&D...

Primer on energy risk management. (Power Pointers).(Interview)
July 1, 2002... In turbulent markets, energy risk management (ERM) provides management executives with the tools necessary to control trading activities. EL&P invited John Wengler of R. W. Beck to provide this month's expert answers to commonly asked questions...