Electric Light & Power articles from March 2003

Electric Light & Power archives from March 2003

DTECH speakers urge industry to embrace change.(future of the energy industries)
March 1, 2003... What would you do in advance--along the lines of technology--if you knew that the future would be very different from today?" asked Walter Higgins, chairman of the board, president and CEO of Sierra Pacific Resources, in his keynote address to...

O Canada: singing the blues north of the border. (Commentary).(energy industry regulations in Canada)
March 1, 2003... Mention Bill 210 to electricity market participants in Ontario, and you'll surely elicit a look of exasperation accompanied with a comment along the lines of, "This can't go on for long." Our northern neighbors are now singing their own...

Microsol, ATS expand. (Companies).(Microsol and Automation Technologies and Services form new organization)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Microsol Ltd. and Automation Technologies & Services (ATS) announced the formation of a new organization, which will provide offerings of equipment and services for monitoring, control and asset-management of electric utilities and transit...

Duke nuke has best year. (Companies).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Duke Power's nuclear program in 2002 compiled its most productive year in history, setting a host of company records. Duke Power-operated nuclear stations had a combined capacity factor of 95.21 percent, considerably above the company's...

Detroit Edison turns 100. (Companies).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Detroit Edison marked 100 years of serving Detroit and southeastern Michigan this winter. One hundred years ago, the population of Detroit Edison's service area was a mere 313,000. Detroit Edison now serves 2.1 million residential, commercial...

Black & Veatch creates new division. (Companies).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Black & Veatch Corp. announced the creation of its new enterprise consulting division and the appointment of Rodger E. Smith, a former director in management consulting from PricewaterhouseCoopers to lead it. The new division will provide...

Allegheny rejects allegations. (Legal & Regulatory).(Allegheny Energy Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Allegheny Energy Inc., responding to a lawsuit filed by the California Department of Water Resources (CDWR), announced that it categorically rejects the matters alleged by CDWR, allegations which represent "a continuation of the agency's...

Energy commission predicts promise. (Legal & Regulatory).(California Energy Commission)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The California Energy Commission predicts that electricity demand and supply for the state looks promising this summer, and supplies should continue to remain positive through the year 2005. According to testimony presented before the...

The new "new" players in the energy industry: a preview. (Benefit of Counsel).(new energy industry companies)
March 1, 2003... As the "new breed" of energy companies--Enron, Dynegy, Mirant, Calpine, AES, Reliant, Williams, NRG and others--withdraws from trading activities and sells off assets to shore up balance sheets or repay creditors, another group of companies is...

Power companies need to acknowledge the value of a brand. (Case Study in Branding).(electric power companies)
March 1, 2003... From Coca-Cola to Nike to Intel, brands are powerful forces in our society and logos symbolize the brands they represent. Consumers quickly develop perceptions about companies and frequently choose products or services based on brands....

North American deregulation working in wholesale markets, study says. (News).(energy deregulations)
March 1, 2003... While confidence in the prospects for deregulation among energy executives has fallen in the last 12 months, U.S. and Canadian companies indicate that some progress is being made toward standardizing wholesale electricity markets even though...

AIM Foundation gives Massachusetts restructuring a thumbs up. (News).(Associated Industries of Massachusetts Foundation, Massachusetts electricity restructuring)
March 1, 2003... A sweeping primer and status assessment issued on the status to-date of the Massachusetts electricity restructuring law shows noteworthy success in shaping the revolutionary new way businesses and industry buy and use electricity--success made...

Performance-based rate structures impact spending. (News).(in the U.S. energy industries)
March 1, 2003... In a 2002 study of all 50 state utility commissions and the D.C. commission, Newton-Evans Research Co. found that only 11 states had indicated development and use of any performance-based rates (PBR) that are currently in effect. States having...

Customer management, retention should be priorities for CRM funding. (Executive Insights).(electric utilities, customer relationship management technology)
March 1, 2003... For electric utilities, the original and most compelling rationale for customer relationship management (CRM) was that this new technology application would provide the sophisticated marketing capabilities required to compete in deregulated...

Appeals court overturns Novia Scotia tax case. (Regal & Regulatory).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Nova Scotia Power Inc. is seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada the recent Federal Court ruling that overturned a Tax Court of Canada decision in the company's favor. The case arose when Nova Scotia Power claimed deductions...

Mirant, Alliant complete sale. (Mergers and Acquisitions).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Mirant has completed the sale of its 309 MW natural gas-fired power plant in Neenah, Wis., to Alliant Energy Resources for $109 million. The two companies announced the sales agreement last July.

AEP to sell portion to Pedernales. (Mergers and Acquisitions).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... American Electric Power (AEP) has reached an agreement with Pedernales Electric Coop, a private, consumer-owned electric coop based in Johnson County, Texas, to sell a small portion of AEP's electric distribution facilities in Central Texas to...

Constellation purchases a portion of Dynegy. (Mergers and Acquisitions).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Constellation Energy Group has purchased the Alberta-based electricity division of Dynegy Canada Inc. The newly purchased division will be a part of Constellation NewEnergy. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

TransAlta to purchase half of generator. (Mergers and Acquisitions).(from El Paso Merchant Energy)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... TransAlta USA Inc. has agreed to acquire half of a U.S. generator from El Paso Merchant Energy, a business unit of El Paso Corp. TransAlta will purchase El Paso's 50 percent interest in CE Generation LLC, including the right to a 50 percent...

Calpine signs deal. (Projects and Contracts).(with Nevada Power Co.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Calpine Corp. has entered into a three-year power purchase agreement with Nevada Power Co., a subsidiary of Sierra Pacific Resources. The arrangement calls for the delivery of 100 MW of on-peak and 50 MW of off-peak power. Calpine expects the...

Schott to renovate power system. (Projects and Contracts).(at Natural Bridges National Monument)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Sohott Applied Power Corp. has been chosen by the National Park Service to renovate the power system at Natural Bridges National Monument near Moab, Utah. Financial terms were not disclosed.

City of Waco chooses Texas Commercial. (Projects and Contracts).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The City of Waco has selected Texas Commercial Energy (TCE) as its retail electric provider in a competitive review designed to meet the city's budget and management needs. The contract is valued at more than $3.5 million annually.

Nuclear Energy Institute. (Executive Appointments).(Linda Nahin)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Linda Nahin, vice president, has left as part of the company's reorganization.

California Public Utilities Commission. (Executive Appointments).(Bill Ahern)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Bill Ahem is executive director. He replaces Wes Franklin.

CES International. (Executive Appointments).(names Timothy Harvey)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Timothy Harvey has been named CEO and president.

Midwest ISO. (Executive Appointments).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Jim Torgerson is president and CEO. Ronald McNamara is vice president of regulatory affairs and chief economist. Richard Doying is director of market development and analysis. Mark Griffin is executive director and chief of staff.

Entergy Nuclear. (Executive Appointments).(Gary Taylor)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Jerry Yelverton, chief executive office for Entergy's nuclear businesses, will retire March 31. Gary Taylor will assume the role of CEO.

TECO Energy. (Executive Appointments).(Sherrill Hudson)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Sherrill Hudson has been named to the board of directors.

Tracing the evolution of merchant power plant financing. (Finance).
March 1, 2003... Lenders tend to be very conservative when evaluating which projects secure funding. In fact, independent engineers, hired to assist lenders in evaluating projects, are often accused by borrowers of being more conservative than they should...

Westar files debt reduction plan. (Finance Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Westar Energy has filed a comprehensive plan with the Kansas Corporation Commission outlining how the company intends to reduce debt and become exclusively an electric utility. The plan calls for Westar Energy to sell its non-utility and...

El Paso announces 2003 plan. (Finance Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... In February, El Paso Corp. shared its plans to keep its business going and announced it expected a loss for the fourth-quarter. Two investors' companies downgraded El Paso shares, and, in response the company's shares dropped 97 cents. El Paso...

ACN Energy, Aquila end relationship. (Finance Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... ACN Energy, a marketer of natural gas and electric power serving residential and small commercial markets, has reached an agreement with Aquila Merchant Services. The agreement ends the long-term relationship between the two companies. Aquila...

Allegheny Energy receives extensions. (Finance Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Allegheny Energy announced that, based on continuing negotiations with lenders, its subsidiaries--Allegheny Energy Supply Co. and Allegheny Generating Co.--have sought and received extensions on waivers from bank lenders under their credit...

A comparison of Clear Skies Act and Clean Power Act to control Multi-pollutant emissions. (Industry Report).
March 1, 2003... The legislative proposals 5.556 (also known as the Clean Power Act, introduced by Senator Jeffords) and S. 2815 (also known as Clear Skies Act, introduced by Senator Bob Smith) seek a sustained approach to pollution control at power plants in...

Legal innovators. (Products & Services Showcase).
March 1, 2003... Dickstein Shapiro Mann & Oshinsky LLP, celebrating its 50th year, is a multi-service law firm with more than 325 attorneys in Washington, D.C. and New York City. Dickstein Shapiro's domestic and international energy practice provides experience...

Itron. (Products & Services Showcase).
March 1, 2003... With more than 2,000 utility clients worldwide, Itron is the leading technology provider and source of knowledge to the global energy and water industries for collecting, analyzing and applying electric, gas and water usage data. Itron's...

Aggreko Rental Cooling Towers. (Products & Services Showcase).
March 1, 2003... Aggreko Rental Cooling Towers improve plant performance. Thermal Discharge Limits: By diverting some of a plant's exiting condenser cooling water, cooling it, then returning it to the discharge canal before reaching the river, lake or ocean,...

Master Card. (Products & Services Showcase).
March 1, 2003... Through deregulation, federal and state government reforms and rising competition, utilities are faced with tough challenges. Accepting MasterCard cards can be an important component in achieving both your financial and customer service goals....

Alliance Data Systems. (Products & Services Showcase).
March 1, 2003... Alliance Data Systems is a leading provider of outsourced billing and customer care solutions in the energy industry, serving millions of utility customers across North America Our core customers transaction management solutions facilitate...

Deploy your load management strategy for results now, not later. (Information Technology Customer Systems).(electric load management)
March 1, 2003... It's time to question the conventional wisdom that says an electric load management system (LMS) should be designed from the outset with the total energy savings picture in mind. Most LMS are designed to meet long-term strategic goals, but...

KEMA Inc. announces Cyber Security offering for the energy market. (Information Technology Customer Systems).
March 1, 2003... Global energy solutions provider KEMA Inc. announced a suite of consulting services to help utilities, energy companies and other companies with process control systems assess the susceptibility of these systems to potential security breaches...

Indus to acquire provider of customer management systems. (Information Technology Customer Systems).(part of Systems & Computer Technology Corp.)
March 1, 2003... Indus International Inc., a provider of enterprise asset management (EAM) solutions, announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Global Energy and Utility Solutions (GEUS) business unit of Systems & Computer Technology...

Creating a multi-channel delivery strategy. (Information Technology Customer Systems).(information technology services industry)
March 1, 2003... The utility industry is at a crossroads regarding customer communications. It must reach new and existing customers through such ever increasing contact points as e-mail, the Web and more. At the same time, it must also provide more...

Global Enterprise Managers Inc., CES International form strategic alliance. (Information Technology Customer Systems).
March 1, 2003... Global Enterprise Managers, Inc. (GEM) announces an alliance with CES International to incorporate process solutions of the service restoration function into the delivery cycle of CES International Centricity products. This alliance...

Merchant transmission--has its time arrived? (Transmission & Distribution).
March 1, 2003... Merchant transmission remains a hypo-thetical concept to most people in the electric industry. However, the time may be approaching when fantasy becomes transformed into reality. The first merchant transmission project in the United States...

Dranetz-BMI, LEM establish partnership to serve power quality instrumentation market. (Transmission & Distribution).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Dranetz-BMI and LEM announced the formation of a strategic partnership to co-brand and co-market select products and services within the power quality and energy instrumentation market. The partnership will deliver increased value and...

New Web-centric PQ monitoring system revealed. (Transmission & Distribution).(SoftSwitching Technologies releases Web system)
March 1, 2003... Based on the successes and excitement resulting from three pilot programs that involved over 30 utilities, numerous Fortune 100 companies, and the Department of Energy, the I-Grid(tm) web-based power monitoring system was commercially released...

Transmission upgrades change NE price dynamics. (T&D Briefs).(ISO New England electric transmission financial estimate)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... ISO New England's 2002 Regional Transmission Expansion Planning report proposes $890 million in upgrades and expansions aimed at increasing reliability and reducing congestion. ESAI, Boston, sees the southwest Connecticut Phase I project as...

DTE Energy completes sale of transmission business. (T&D Briefs).(DTE Energy sells International Transmission Co. )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... DTE Energy completed the sale of its transmission business subsidiary, International Transmission Co. (ITC), to an investor group including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Trimaran Capital Partners LLC for about $610 million cash. The...

LeT launches outage management system (OMS) module. (T&D Briefs).(LeT Systems)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... LeT Systems launched emPower, its latest software solution for distribution utilities, a resource planning module designed to add new levels of performance to customer restoration estimates and emergency and disaster recovery following any...

Five year & of progress for CHP: what's left to be done? (Generation).(combined heat and power industry in the U.S.)
March 1, 2003... In the five years since President Clinton launched combined heat and power (CHP) into the forefront of the power industry, CHP has become increasingly mainstream in the market. It is important to take stock and see how CHP has advanced since...

Black & Veatch announces details of nuclear group. (Generation Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Black & Veatch announced the details of its Energy Engineering & Construction Division's focused nuclear group, which will be responsible for overseeing all nuclear-related work in the division's newly-created geographic regions: Europe, Asia...

Baldor purchases Energy Dynamics. (Generation Briefs).(Baldor Electric Co. to buy Energy Dynamics Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Baldor Electric Co. has reached an agreement to purchase Energy Dynamics Inc. in Mukwonago, Wisconsin. Energy Dynamics (EDI) is a designer, assembler and marketer of industrial generator sets. Baldor markets, designs and manufactures electric...

Patakiwants to paint New York green. (Generation Briefs).(George Pataki, New York Governor, to address renewable energy issues)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... New York Governor George Pataki opened the 2003 legislative session with a state of the state address voicing a goal of 25 percent renewable energy. The governor announced that the Public Service Commission will implement a renewable portfolio...

Great River awarded grant. (Generation Briefs).(U.S. Department of Energy awards Great River Energy grant)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded Great River Energy an $11 million grant to help fund a large-scale coal-drying study at its Coal Creek Station power plant located in North Dakota. The first phase of the project found that the plant's...

AEP, Ohio EPA reach agreement. (Generation Briefs).(American Electric Power reaches a deal with the State of Ohio Environmental Protection Agency)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... American Electric Power (AEP) and the State of Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have reached an agreement to resolve concerns about leaks in the fly ash handling system at the Gen. James M. Gavin plant in Cheshire, Ohio. The...

Online trading follows convergent theory. (Electric & Gas Trading).
March 1, 2003... Convergent evolutionary theory suggests nature produces replacement fauna for once successful extinct species. Present day apex predators such as the big cats, bears and wolves, supplanted super-predator dinosaurs. It appears that convergent...

FERC releases 2003 Natural Gas Market Assessment. (Electric & Gas Trading).(US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission)
March 1, 2003... The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has released its 2003 Natural Gas Market Assessment. The assessment was released to provide the commission an "early warning" on market issues, guide short run oversight and investigation...

AEP, Snohomish reach settlement in contract dispute. (Electric & Gas Trading).(American Electric Power, Snohomish County, Washington)
March 1, 2003... American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) and the Public Utility District No. 1 of Snohomish County, Wash. (Snohomish), announced a settlement in a dispute over a long-term contract signed in January 2001. According to the terms of the...

Don't just stand there! (Management Methods).(do something to illustrate statements to ensure clarity)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... "Words fail me." We've all used that expression at one time or another and sometimes it's true; sometimes words aren't enough to clarify a thought. When they aren't, it's time to use action. By doing something or showing something to...

Psychology tip: you get what you give. (Management Methods).(prevent anger by managing tone of voice)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... People tend to respond to the attitudes and actions expressed by others in similar ways. Act politely toward someone and he will respond in kind. Display hostility and you will also get back what you give. There is an unconscious urge to live...

Reconsider that transfer. (Management Methods).(alleged 'problem employee' transfers)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... There are many legitimate reasons for transferring an employee: a shift in company needs, a worker's desire for advancement, a sudden opportunity, a family crisis. But, some managers are guilty of engineering transfers to rid themselves of...

Primer on corona and arcing. (Power Pointers).(Interview)
March 1, 2003... Insulating materials that are failing can cause flash-overs and outages. Such imminent failures can be indicated by corona, which shows the presence of an intense electrical field. For a more detailed breakdown of coronas and arcing, EL&P...