Electric Light & Power articles from June 2002

Electric Light & Power archives from June 2002

Passage of Senate bill means time to reconcile.(energy legislation)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... In late April, the U.S. Senate finally passed its own version of an energy bill. (The House had done so last August.) With the 88 to l1 vote, Congress will now be looking ahead to reconciling two very different takes on President Bush's energy...

Asset sales: decade-long sellers' market may be nearing end.(power project sales)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2002... Data on power project sales during 2001 show a major shift in market activity. Utility divestitures have slowed. Many power projects auctioned by utilities in the last few years have sold again, and early data on sales to date during 2002...

Credibility in jeopardy. (Commentary).(Reliant Energy)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Pam Boschee Category: Embarrassing Marketing blurbs. For $500: Reliant's straw that broke the credibility camel's back. Answer: "What is 'electricity from people you can trust'?" Yes, Reliant's homepage on its Web site makes that...

WSCC, SWRTA, WRTA merge. (Transmission).(Western Electricity Coordinating Council)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... The Western Systems Coordinating Council (WSCC), Southwest Regional Transmission Assn. (SWRTA) and Western Regional Transmission Assn. (WRTA) merged to form the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC). The new organization will continue...

Trans-Elect completes system purchase. (Transmission).(Michigan Electric Transmission Co.)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Trans-Elect has purchased the Consumers Energy transmission system, known as the Michigan Electric Transmission Co., for approximately $290 million.

FERC gives tentative OK to TRANSLink. (Transmission).(Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approves independent transmission company)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has given conditional approval of TRANSLink Transmission Co.'s application to from an independent transmission company. The six applicants included in TRANSLink are Alliant Energy, Corn Belt Power...

Enercon selected by Entergy. (Projects & Contracts).(Enercon Services, Entergy Nuclear Potomac)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Entergy Nuclear Potomac Co. selected Enercon Services Inc., a nuclear services firm, to be part of its team to prepare an early site permit at the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station site near Port Gibson, Miss., for a potential new nuclear plant. Under...

DTE Energy, Waukesha partner up. (Projects & Contracts).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... DTE Energy Technologies Inc. and Waukesha Engine, Dresser inc. have become Power Energy Partners. Under the agreement, DTE will provide a marketing channel for Waukesha Engine.

WPS buys from Calpine. (Projects & Contracts).(Wisconsin Public Service Corp.)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Wisconsin Public Service Corp., a subsidiary of WPS Resources Corp., and Calpine Corp. are considering two separate deals: the purchase of Calpine's 180 MW De Pere Center and a power purchase agreement for up to 235 MW of capacity and energy...

Allegheny to build Indiana facility. (Projects & Contracts).(Allegheny Energy Supply)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Allegheny Energy Supply 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 Allegheny Energy Supply's growth strategy of owning or controlling...

Nuclear plant given thumbs up to increase capacity. (Legal & Regulatory).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... The South Texas Project Electric Generating Station has received approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to increase the capacity of unit one from 1,250 MW to 1,268 MW, an increase of 1.4 percent. They have plans to do the same for unit...

American Electric Power. (Executive Appointments).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Michael J. Assante has joined AEP as vice president and chief information security officer. Bruce Braine is vice president for strategic policy analysis.

Foster Wheeler. (Executive Appointments).(Henry E. Bartoli steps down)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Henry E. Bartoli steps down as senior vice president and group executive for the company's energy group.

Nuclear energy institute. (Executive Appointments).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Christian H. Poindexter has been re-elected chairman of the board of directors. Donald C. Hintz was elected vice-chairman.

Data: your secret weapon. (Executive Insights).(utilities deregulation)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... The logic behind deregulation is not hard to grasp. open the utility industry to competition, and improvements in efficiency, responsiveness, and price will naturally follow. It's all simple and straightforward. On paper. Deregulation in...

Note to plant managers: look past the people. (News).(electric utilities)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Making strategic operating decisions at the plant means translating technical performance into dynamic financial and risk management. The imperative is driven by this reality: Under private investment scenarios, the litmus test is less the...

WSCC offers generation development opportunity. (Finance).(Western Systems Coordinating Council's report on energy supply)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... The severe supply shortages of 2000-2001 in the Western Systems Coordinating Council (WSCC) are history, according to Henwood's WSCC Power Market Forecast Report (April 2002). The region has now returned to adequate reserve margins driven by...

Investment recovery can boost your earnings per share. (Finance).(electric utilities)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... The economic downturn of the past two years has taught companies a lot about being frugal and profitable. Sometimes painful lessons are the most meaningful: Learn to make the most of your company's resources. Investment recovery (IR) is...

InterGen completes La Rosita financing. (Finance Briefs).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... InterGen announced the financial close and funding of credit facilities for La Rosita Energy, a 1,065 MW, natural gas-fired, combined cycle power facility located near the city of Mexicali in the state of Baja California. With an estimated cost...

Constellation Energy Group emphasizes financial strength. (Finance Briefs).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... In a statement saying it has not engaged in trading practices designed to inflate trading volumes, Constellation emphasized its confidence in its financial future. Follin Smith, CFO, said, "We are confident about our financial future as an...

PG&E files objections to CPUC's disclosure statement. (Finance Briefs).(California Public Utilities Commission)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... PG&E Corp. and Pacific Gas and Electric Co. filed objections to the California Public Utilities Commission's (CPUC) disclosure statement with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. After reviewing the CPUC's alternative plan, PG&E continues to believe that...

PNMs long-term growth trend underlies record-setting 2001. (Finance Briefs).(PNM Resources Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2002... Earnings at PNM Resources in 2002 will be below 2001's record levels but in line with the company's growth rate over the past five years, chairman, president and CEO Jeff Sterba told shareholders at the company's annual meeting. Management's...

Your money or your life: things you didn't know to ask about AMR contracts. (Industry Report).(automatic meter reading systems)
June 1, 2002... Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) systems are used by almost all electric utilities. Some of these systems are quite small, gathering revenue meter data from large customers sites or load survey data from selected locations. But many AMR systems...

U.S. utilities have head start on compliance markets. (Electric & Gas Trading).(environmental compliance)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2002... Market-based environmental mechanisms, such as emissions trading, are an important means of achieving environmental compliance goals. Inherent flexibilities afford users Lower cost options for compliance. Utilities are now comfortable with...

Market risk management grows up with "sense and respond" technology. (Electric & Gas Trading).
June 1, 2002... Risk management has evolved in the last 10 years from an activity that was performed perfunctorily by traders on their trading desks into an activity that is now viewed by most large companies as a critical enterprise-wide requirement for many...

How counterparties can avoid going counterclockwise. (Electric & Gas Trading).
June 1, 2002... The one good thing that might be said about the recent publicity generated from Enron and other newsworthy upheavals might be awareness. Finally, many are taking notice about the ripple effect left in the wake of this shake-up and are asking...

Vision 21 partial gasification module moves to pilot plant testing phase. (Technology).
June 1, 2002... Foster Wheeler Development Corporation is working under a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) contract to develop a partial gasification module (PGM) that represents a critical element of several potential coal-fired Vision 21 plants. (Vision 21 is...

Green Mountain installs solar array. (Tech Briefs).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Green Mountain Energy Co. threw the power switch on a 25 kW solar array at Lake Farmpark in Kirtland, 25 miles east of Cleveland. The solar array is one of the largest in Ohio and the first commercial solar array in the state to be built...

Magnetek unveils converters. (Tech Brief).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Magnetek, Inc., unveiled a new family of dual-output dc-dc converters in "quarter-brick" format. The company claims that the converters feature efficiencies in excess of 87 percent at full load, allowing customers to meet the need for isolated...

Ocean Power signs agreement. (Tech Brief).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Ocean Power Corp. has signed an agreement establishing the conditions for sale of 10,000 3 kW home power units (HPU) with a private real estate management company currently operating a portfolio of approximately 15,000 apartments. The HPU,...

AEP, CPS dedicate wind farm. (Tech Brief).(American Electric Power, City Public Service, San Antonio, Texas)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Officials of American Electric Power (AEP) and City Public Service (CPS), the municipal electric utility for San Antonio, Texas, have dedicated the Desert Sky Wind Farm in West Texas. The newly named wind farm, previously known as Indian Mesa...

Caterpillar, FuelCell Energy make plans. (Tech Brief).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Caterpillar Inc. and FuelCell Energy Inc. have formalized and expanded their agreement to distribute and develop ultra-low emission direct fuel cell power generation products for industrial and commercial use. Under the ten-year alliance...

H Power Corp., ECO sign deal. (Tech Brief).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... H Power Corp., a fuel cell development company, has signed an amended and restated $81 million operating agreement with ECO Fuel Cells LLC. The new agreement now provides for ECO to market H Power's portable products, including the recently...

Web e-enabling the nuclear plant. (Information Technology).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Web technology, with its ability to allow seamless transactions between dissimilar systems and apply technology like wireless communication, is making business processes far more flexible and efficient than ever before. One business that should...

Study says e-procurement brings savings. (Information Technology).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Companies transforming their supply management practices via e-procurement technology stand to realize savings 13 times greater than their investments in the technology and associated implementation and change management, according to a study...

GE releases SCADA software. (IT Briefs).(GE Network Solutions; supervisory control and data acquisition)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... GE Network Solutions, a supplier of software to the utility industry, has released its XA/21 Swift 1.0 software product, an off-the-shelf supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system based on the company's XA/21 energy management...

SchlumbergerSema garners NU contract. (IT Briefs).(Northeast Utilities)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... SchlumbergerSema, a business unit of Schlumberger Limited, has signed a new contract with Northeast Utilities (NU) following successful completion of a test project aimed at medemizing the utility's asset management operations. The new...

Kansas City expands monitoring system. (It Briefs).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Kansas City Power & Light Co. is proceeding with its expansion of its Intemet-based intelligent substation monitoring system, Esubstation.com. Cannon Technologies Inc. has received an order from the utility to add the Esubstation system to four...

NASA equips Ames. (IT Briefs).(Ames Research Center near San Francisco)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has installed an enterprise management system at its Ames Research Center near San Francisco. Designed by Jacobs/Sverdrup Technology, the Ames system monitors power usage through the...

SCT's system installed at Allegheny. (It Briefs).(Allegheny Energy Supply has imlemented SCT Banner Fuels Management System)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Allegheny Energy Supply, the generation and trading subsidiary of Allegheny Energy, has implement SCT Banner Fuels Management System to support the purchase, transport, consumption and payment processing of coal and other fuels. The Hagerstown,...

Demand response plugs in to energy economy. (Customer Systems).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... It's no secret that North America's electric systems are undergoing fundamental changes. In the last two decades demand for the quantity and quality of reliable energy has risen dramatically, while our ability to meet this demand has increased...

Next generation CIS: modularity and adaptability. (Customer System).(Customer information systems)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Adaptability is a survival characteristic-both in the natural world and the world of technology. Plug and play is the order of the day, and modularity has become a standard design feature of practically everything from PCs to semiconductor...

Enlogix partners with LODESTAR. (CS Briefs).(New contract targets commercial and industrial clients)(International Pages)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
June 1, 2002... Enlogix will offer LODESTAR's BillingExpert and LODESTAR Profile & Settlement System solutions to its outsourcing customers, primarily suppliers of electricity to commercial and industrial users.

Apogee delivers data with 6D. (CS Briefs).(Apogee Interactive Inc.)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Apogee Interactive Inc. has enhanced its demand exchange platform to offer real-time data to energy provides and their customers through the 6D NET network. With the 6D network, exchange users can view their individual site's energy...

Cirro selects Lumenor. (CS Briefs).(Will offer bundled utility services)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Cirro Energy has selected Lumenor Inc. to provide their Radiant billing and customer care solution, as well as their customer self-service solution. (Cirro Energy is focusing on providing bundled utility services to residential and small to...

AEP deploys Peace. (CS Briefs).(Peace Software's Energy customer information system)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... American Electric Power (AEP) has deployed Peace Software's Energy customer information system (CIS) to manage competitive and regulated provider of last resort customers in Texas. Hosted in Ohio, the Energy suite connects AEP's back-office...

SCT introduces solution. (CS Briefs).(New products for energy and utilities companies)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
June 1, 2002... SCT, a provider of e-business solutions for energy and utilities, has introduced CRM Essentials, a solution designed exclusively for the needs of electric, gas, water and sewer utilities. CRM Essentials incorporates customer relationship...

Sempra tests fiber optics in pipelines. (CS Briefs).(New natural gas pipelines technology)(Product Development)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Sempra Fiber Links, a Sempra Energy subsidiary, has installed a pilot application of its proprietary Fiber-In-Gas system in a portion of the natural gas lines in Ft. Worth, Texas. The technology allows for the installation and operation of a...

Making friends of your people. (Management Methods).(Personnel management advice)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... No manager is paid for being liked, but the unassailable fact is that people will work harder and more cheerfully for a manager they like than for one they dislike. That being so, it makes sense to take steps to be a likable human being. If you...

Primer on transmission: AC vs. DC. (Power Pointers).(System architecture and long-distance electricity ansmission)
June 1, 2002... The AC vs. DC question has been around since the earliest days of electric power, going back to that golden era when Edison and Westinghouse duked it out--verbally, of course--over the issue. (Edison liked DC; Westinghouse favored AC.) ...

Publicly announced U.S. market transactions, 2001 operating power projects. (News).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Publicly announced U.S. market transactions, 2001 operating power projects Buyer Seller # of oper. units AES ...