Electric Light & Power articles from March 2009

Electric Light & Power archives from March 2009

Events.(Calendar)
March 1, 2009... APRIL April 19-22 2009 Geospatial Infrastructure Solutions Conference GITA Tampa, Fla. www.gita.org/gis April 28-30 PLMA Spring 2009 Conference Peak Load Management Alliance Annapolis, Md. ...

Commentary.(survey on world economy)(Survey)(Column)
March 1, 2009... These days it's hard to look beyond the U.S. economic environment and focus on other pertinent issues. The mainstream media reports on almost nothing else. My personal situation has changed little except for the value of my retirement account....

Reinventing EE delivery.(COLUMN: EE: Principles and Practices)
March 1, 2009... Dr. Chip Bell is not only a friend, but a renowned customer service expert. His newest book, "Take Their Breath Away: How Imaginative Service Creates Devoted Customers" (with John R. Patterson), is filled with ideas, concepts and strategies to...

Smarts deliver more than backbone.(COLUMN: Taking It Into Account)
March 1, 2009... Those channeling cash to the energy industry under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 must evaluate critically proposals to invest or guarantee investments of billions of dollars in a network of extra-high-voltage (500 kV or 765...

A new PURPA for green schools?(COLUMN: Benefit of Counsel)
March 1, 2009... A potentially powerful and highly motivated coalition is pressing for changes in state and federal utility regulation to enable private investment in renewable energy and efficiency in the U.S. educational system. This broad group of...

Understanding Obama's energy policy: definitions for the armchair economist.(COLUMN: Economic Inquiry)
March 1, 2009... The new administration is pursuing transformation of America's century-old electricity industry. As with any reform, however, disagreement often boils down to definition. The following lexicon summarizes selected energy economic concepts...

Yes we did ... now what?(Industry Report)(Cover story)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As the new U.S. president promises the most costly changes to fight recession since World War II, Americans are finding their best return on investment is a Sunday paper with coupons and job listings. President...

Economic stimulus and the power industry.(Industry Report)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The electricity-related provisions in the economic stimulus package sharply brought into focus the essential nature of electricity to our nation's economic recovery. Our economy cannot get stronger, nor can our...

Embracing the changing workforce: 7 tips to sustain a successful strategy.(Finance)
March 1, 2009... The electric utility industry expects major workforce challenges during the next decade. An imminent, significant drop in the number of older, skilled workers will be the result of increased retirements, which are expected to double between...

Protecting the coal supply chain: planning for the next flu pandemic.(Finance)
March 1, 2009... I was a resident advisor, or RA, when I was in college. I went to a little school in New England with only a few thousand students, so being an RA usually consisted of little more than walking around and making sure everything was quiet--not an...

CMS Energy tops January.(Finance)
March 1, 2009... A positive natural gas rate case and an increase in its dividend helped CMS Energy, parent of Consumers Energy, to the top for the month. For the past year, natural gas utilities dominated while less-regulated electric and natural gas companies...

Strategies for managing the demand-supply equation.(Energy Management)
March 1, 2009... Buzzwords or industry trends? Energy efficiency (EE). Decoupling. Clean technology. Renewable portfolio standards (RPS). President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden frequently mentioned these four topics on the campaign trail. The...

Energy efficiency all grown up.(Energy Management)
March 1, 2009... It might be that after 30 years, energy efficiency (EE) has hit its prime with a galactic alignment of the planets of capacity needs, utility interest, consumer consciousness, technical potential, legislative incentives and economic conditions....

Clean-coal power generation: the uncertainties beyond carbon policy.(Generation)
March 1, 2009... Although advocates claim clean-coal power generation must be an underpinning of future U.S. energy policy, such power plants are not yet a reality. At question is whether developments in clean-coal technologies will occur fast enough to...

Is renewable energy the impossible dream? Science offers insight on wind feasibility.(Renewables)
March 1, 2009... "Just then they came in sight of thirty or forty windmills that rise from that plain. And no sooner did Don Quixote see them that he said to his squire, 'Fortune is guiding our affairs better than we ourselves could have wished. Do you see over...

Inciting awareness: how DOE supports the smart grid.(Department of Energy)
March 1, 2009... However you choose to define it, there is no ignoring it, pooh-poohing it or pretending it doesn't exist. The smart grid is coming, whatever the heck that means. Whether the smart grid as you see it reinvents electric generation,...

T&D Market Index provides snapshot of critical-spend categories.(T&D)
March 1, 2009... Denali Intelligence, a market research firm for sourcing professionals, released its latest (Q4) T&D Market Index. The index is based on detailed analysis of 11 critical-spend categories that represent core purchases for most transmission and...

Mutual assistance in customer service: the latest trend.(IT/CIS & CRM)
March 1, 2009... Mutual assistance is the cornerstone of an industry that values safety and service. It is practiced by all utilities during crises. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Until now, mutual assistance has meant line crews, contractors, trucks and...

Let CS Week be your meter-to-cash stimulus package.
March 1, 2009... President Barack Obama's energy plan provides money and a public spotlight to the multiple facets of energy use, generation, exploration and conservation that his administration will address. With a projected energy budget of $150 billion over...

CS Week Conference workshops.(IT/CIS & CRM)
March 1, 2009... Agenda Advanced Metering Infrastructure Concentrates on the various aspects of metering and the collection of metering data for various purposes including AMI/AMR, communications architecture, meter inventory, prepay meters, meter-read...

Keeping the ball rolling.(COLUMN: The Uncomfort Zone)(Column)
March 1, 2009... I know an advertising agency owner who never fully takes a vacation. He takes his family to fairly exotic locations, but never so alien that they are outside the reach of modern communication. He is never farther than a cell phone call or...