Electric Light & Power articles from July 2007

Electric Light & Power archives from July 2007

Events.(Calendar)
July 1, 2007... AUGUST August 1-3 COAL-GEN PennWell Milwaukee, Wisconsin coal-gen.com SEPTEMBER September 4-6 PowerGen Asia PennWell Bangkok, Thailand www.pennwell.com September 10--13 UtiliPoint...

Commentary.
July 1, 2007... I'm a baby boomer who thinks like a GenXer, with a few Millennial traits thrown in for good measure. At least that's how I'd be described according to some of the workforce management articles I've read lately. Which generational pigeon hole is...

New thinking on performance management: adding the horizontal dimension.(NEWS
July 1, 2007... Asset management is increasingly becoming the business model of choice for utilities around the globe. It provides a sound basis for decision-making, helps focus limited capital and human resources on what's important to business success, and...

Improve call center operations 5 ways.(NEWS / ANALYSIS)
July 1, 2007... Is your call center a well-oiled machine? Or are there a few squeaky parts that need attention'? Even the most efficient call center needs a tune-up now and then. Regardless of size, demographics and utility type, there are five key...

Reducing revenue leakage.(COLUMNS: Customer Service, Utility Style)
July 1, 2007... "What keeps you up at night?" Utility executives addressed that question during the invitation-only Executive Summit at the CS Week Conference in May. At the top of their list of concerns was, "How do I reduce revenue leakage?" Industry...

REITS are poised to finance an independent and modern grid.(COLUMNS: Taking It Into Account)
July 1, 2007... The Internal Revenue Service issued a private letter ruling in June (PLR 200725015) stating that electric transmission and distribution systems are real estate assets that can be transferred into a real estate investment trust (REIT), a public...

A federal mandate requires federal action.(COLUMNS: Benefit of Counsel)
July 1, 2007... For some time, Congress has been poised to adopt a nationwide renewable portfolio standard of 15 percent to 20 percent. Similar to what many states have already, a federal RPS would require retail electric utilities in every state to include a...

European utilities find investment opportunities in the U.S.(Industry Report)
July 1, 2007... Perceptions of cost savings, economies of scale in generation and transmission, and opportunities to optimize executive compensation for the buyer are just some of the reasons that drive the desire to merge U.S. investor-owned utilities. If...

Hydro-Quebec's CEO has good reason to smile; an interview with Thierry Vandal, president and CEO of Hydro-Quebec.(Profile)(Interview)(Cover story)
July 1, 2007... We can't be all things to all people. Usually that phrase is true, but after learning about Canadian utility Hydro-Quebec, we may have found the exception to the rule. Why? The government-owned Hydro-Quebec keeps Quebec energized with a...

Exclusive C Three equity index.(SECTIONS: Finance)
July 1, 2007... OUCH! Only 13 of the 102 companies in our equity indices saw positive movement during June. On average, the companies we track saw a drop in stock value of 5.3 percent during the month. Is the luster leaving the utility sector? Now you are...

Prudence revisited; utilities can be prepared for complex rate cases.(SECTIONS: Finance)
July 1, 2007... Prudence investigations became high-stakes proceedings for regulated electric utilities in the 1980s and 1990s. After the nuclear power plant construction boom in the early '70s, there was an increase in the quantity of rate proceedings...

Weak La Nina expected to persist through summer.(SECTIONS: Risk Management)
July 1, 2007... Sea-surface temperatures across the equatorial Pacific have continued to average a couple of degrees cooler than normal during the past month. This trend indicates that the weak La Nina phase will likely persist during the remainder of the...

Qualifying facilities in the post-EPAct world: challenges and opportunities for QFs, Part IV.(SECTIONS: Risk Management)
July 1, 2007... The Energy Policy Act of 2005 created a number of challenge s for qualifying facilities, but there remain significant--and unique--benefits and opportunities for them. In the first three parts of this series, we explored the regulatory changes...

Branding: three things you may be doing that don't work.(SECTIONS: Risk Management)
July 1, 2007... You're at a crossroads with your branding, marketing, advertising or other communications. To paraphrase department store icon and branding legend, John Wannamaker, you know half of your branding budget is being wasted, you just don't know...

Trash into treasure: North Dakota is fueling the development of biomass.(SECTIONS: Renewables)
July 1, 2007... The adage that one man's trash can be another's treasure is gaining new meaning in Grand Forks, N.D., where researchers and private industry are working to turn industrial trash into treasured heat and electricity. In January, the Grand...

Co-op benefits from SOA strategy.(SECTIONS: IT/CIS & CRM)(Southside Electric Coop.)
July 1, 2007... In the past five years, Southside Electric Cooperative has seen the number of accounts it services increase by 73 percent, from 30,000 to 52,000. For the south-central Virginia co-op, this growth presented business and IT challenges. The...

CS conference reaches new level of excellence.(SECTIONS: IT/CIS & CRM)(customer service)
July 1, 2007... The CS Conference has dropped the "I" from its name but instead of less information more will be provided for the utility professionals who attend CS Week from all around the globe, looking for the latest on customer service. CIS Week's...

The event formerly known as "CIS Week".(CS Week)(Conference news)
July 1, 2007... CIS Week has reinvented itself to become CS Week as announced in Orlando during the recent event. The conference that has served various aspects of utility customer service education for the past 31 years has now officially re-branded itself to...

High quality customer service a must.(SECTIONS: IT/CIS & CRM)
July 1, 2007... The quality of a customer call center can mean the difference between shining success or a headache-filled failure. The ongoing delivery of high quality service means having a detailed strategy and executing an array of business activities that...

Safety and your bottom line.(SECTIONS: T&D)
July 1, 2007... Every time a utility professional gets behind the wheel of a company-owned vehicle, he or she puts the organization at risk. Opportunities exist for an incident that may result in vehicle damages, or worse, personal injury. These risks create...

Linemen wanted: IBEW targets potential professionals through national and local programs.(SECTIONS: T&D)
July 1, 2007... The shortage of electricians we're anticipating has received national attention in recent years. And with good reason. While the country's growing dependence on electricity will almost certainly necessitate a major overhaul of the...

Balance of power: the supply and demand of lineman minutes.(SECTIONS: T&D)
July 1, 2007... It's interesting how successful electric utilities have to deal with a couple of laws that have nothing to do with regulatory mandates. The laws of physics dictate that at any time, the amount of kilowatt hours of electricity produced must...

Steve Wright.(Profile Light)(interview with Steve Wright)(Interview)
July 1, 2007... As administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration, Steve Wright heads up the federal agency that provides close to half of the electricity used in the Northwest and operates more than three-fourths of the region's high-voltage...