Electric Light & Power articles from May 2000

Electric Light & Power archives from May 2000

Montana Power: telecom, energy 'shouldn't exist under one corporation'.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... The grass is greener in the telecom business. That's the conclusion reached by Montana Power Co.'s board of directors in late March. After a year-long review, the company announced it would divest its energy businesses and separate them from...

RTOs evolve in response to FERC Order 2000.(regional transmission organizations)
May 1, 2000... The U.S. electric transmission industry has undergone significant change over the past year. With a vast number of issues still unresolved, the industry can expect continued transformation this year. In its recent landmark Order 2000, the...

Schizophrenia for fun and profit.(Brief Article)(Column)
May 1, 2000... An old friend called me on the phone recently to razz me about EL&P's recent industry coverage. "You must be schizophrenic," he said. "One month you're saying 'converge, integrate, diversify.' The next month it's 'focus on your core.' Get it...

LETTERS.
May 1, 2000... EL&P as wallpaper Is it possible for you to make the cover photos available on your web site so that subscribers could set them as wallpaper on their computers? You've had several memorable photos recently and I really like the "Rapid-Fire...

Multi-billion-dollar B2B market leaps online.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... E-markets (short for electronic marketplaces) are the latest buzz, in e-business. Utilities have a lot to gain by being early adopters of this powerful business-to business (B2B) Internet market development. When thinking about the value of...

TNP acquisition complete.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... TNP Enterprises Inc., the parent of Texas-New Mexico Power Co., completed its transition to a new ownership group, led by William J. Catacosinos, managing partner of Laurel Hill Capital Partners LLC. The new owners also include CIBC World...

MAPP, MAIN approve MOU.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... The MidContinent Area Power Pool (MAPP) and the Mid-America Interconnected Network (MAIN) approved in early April the execution of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to merge the reliability functions of the two organizations. The next step is...

LG&E Energy, PowerGen plc to merge.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... Louisville, Ky.-based LG&E Energy and PowerGen plc of the United Kingdom recently filed applications with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Virginia State Corporation Commission. The Virginia filing is necessary because LG&E...

Con Edison shareholders approve merger.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... Consolidated Edison Inc. received approval from its shareholders for its pending acquisition of Northeast Utilities. The merger has a value of about $7.5 billion, including Northeast Utilities' debt, capitalized leases and preferred securities....

Southern Co., Washington Gas Energy form alliance.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Southern Company Energy Marketing announced an alliance with Washington Gas Energy Services to supply the regional natural gas retailer with wholesale electricity and power scheduling services. Southern Company Energy Marketing will support...

Enron deals with IBM & Sonoco.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... Enron Energy Services, a subsidiary of Enron Corp., announced a $610 million agreement to provide electricity to IBM over the next 10 years. Enron will supply or procure electricity for a number of IBM facilities across the United States,...

People & Companies.(executive appointments)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Utilities & Associations Joe Richardson, currently the president and CEO of Florida Power Corp. and group vice president of Florida Progress Corp., will head the Florida operations of the new combined company once CP&L's acquisition of...

Tax savvy guides restructuring of PPAs.
May 1, 2000... Many U.S. electric utilities are in talks to buy out or restructure power purchase agreements (PPAs) that commit the utilities to purchase electricity from independent power projects. These contracts were signed in the 1980s when electricity...

GE Power Systems supplies GTs to FPL Group.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... FPL Group Inc. and General Electric Co. announced a $3.7 billion multi-year agreement for GE Power Systems to supply 66 7FA advanced technology gas turbines (GTs), as well as parts, repairs and onsite services. The GTs will support the...

PG&E builds largest wind facility in East.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... PG&E Corp.'s National Energy Group broke ground in mid-April for its Madison Windpower Project, the largest wind generating facility in the Eastern United States. The seven-turbine (Vestas V-66 turbines), 11.5 MW project is slated to be...

Texas court finds Reliant HL&P guilty.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... A Houston jury ruled that Reliant HL&P acted with malice by intentionally underpaying cities for decades for the exclusive right to sell electricity in those cities. The state district court jury ordered HL&P to pay $4.2 million in actual...

H Power Corp. files for IPO.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... H Power Corp., a developer of proton exchange membrane fuel cell systems, filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of its common stock to be listed on the Nasdaq National Market...

TradeOut.com builds utility team.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... The TradeOut.com surplus inventory marketplace is focusing efforts more directly on the utility industry. The company recently created a utility sales group, led by power industry veterans from companies such as World Energy, GE Power Systems,...

PowerTrust.com offers wireless discount.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Internet retail energy supplier PowerTrust.com recently partnered with SimplyWireless.com to offer wireless telephone services, including a $40 discount on an AT&D Digital PCS phone.

E-transformation: Utilities gearing up (slowly) for e-business operations.
May 1, 2000... Electronic business (e-business) is transforming all aspects of the energy industry. Between now and 2004, e-business will accelerate market restructuring, redefine business processes, drive down supply chain costs, and provide the catalyst for...

No rules allowed: Entergy rebuilds culture around integrity and customer service.
May 1, 2000... Things were bleak in the Big Easy. Entergy's customer service ratings were plummeting. Regulators from four states were breathing down the utility's neck for poor reliability and shoddy customer service. Shareholders were furious because debt...

IEDs: The eyes and ears of T&D.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Enrique (Rick) Changes in electric demand coupled with market influences driven by the deregulation process have sparked renewed interest in remote monitoring and control solutions for power transmission and distribution (T&D) systems....

Microturbine market holds promise and uncertainty.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... The market for microturbine products will be a significant niche, totaling $2.4 billion to $8 billion by 2010; more than 50 percent of that market will be international. That's one of the conclusions reached by microturbine stakeholders,...

Gas-fired generation to decline after 2025, projects EPRI study.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Palo Alto The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has completed a two-year study examining the implications of interrelationships between various environmental regulatory initiatives in the United States. The study indicates that the...

Spain branches out into olive-fueled power.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Spain's biggest power company, Endesa, is building two plants to generate electricity from olive residues, one of the world's first projects to use the waste from olive oil production as a fuel. The residue left from olive crushing, orujillo,...

Recent winter rewrites record books as warmest.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that the winter of 1999-2000 was the warmest in the United States since the government began keeping weather records 105 years ago. This is the third year in a row the...

Exelon & Siemens team up.(Exelon Infrastructure Services; Siemens Power Transmission & Distribution marketing agreement)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Exelon Infrastructure Services (EIS) and Siemens Power Transmission & Distribution (SPT&D) plan to jointly market their products and services. SPT&D is partnering with EIS to enhance its existing design, installation and maintenance services....

New subsidiary focuses on emerging HTS markets.(high-temperature superconductor)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Intermagnetics General Corp. formed a new subsidiary, SuperPower LLC, that will focus on developing the potential market for high-temperature superconductor (HTS) applications, especially those designed for the electric utility industry. The...

EdF orders PQ SMES product.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Electricite de France (EdF), one of the world's largest utilities, ordered a Power Quality-Industrial Voltage Restorer (PQ IVR) unit from American Superconductor Corp. (ASC), Middleton, Wis. The PQ IVR is based on ASC's proprietary...

UL announces wind turbine certification.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL), Research Triangle Park, N.C., now has the capability to test and certify wind power systems to local and international safety standards, making it the first U.S. organization to offer wind turbine...

Alliant Energy invests in Capstone.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Alliant Energy Resources Inc., subsidiary of Alliant Energy Corp., made a $10 million purchase of Series G Senior Preferred Stock offered recently by Capstone Turbine Corp.

Siemens Westinghouse demos SOFC in Canada.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Siemens Westinghouse Power Corp. signed an agreement with Ontario Power Generation Inc. (OPG) of Toronto, Canada, to provide a demonstration 250 kW solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) cogeneration system. The system will be natural gas-fueled with a...

Flyash waste may mean profit for utilities.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) researchers have developed and patented a process that can convert up to 95 percent of all flyash, a waste product of coal-burning utility plants, into a valuable construction material that can be mixed...

Newly arrived and already on its way out? Why experts say CRM needs to go eRM.(customer relationship management; electronic relationship management)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... In a recent Forrester Research report, aptly entitled "The Demise of CRM," analysts predict that the traditional model of customer relationship management (CRM) will give way to e-relationship management (eRM), a new approach used to leverage...

Ten steps to successful CRM implementation.(customer relationship management)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Bracknell Building that loyalty is not a straightforward process. It involves everyone in the organization, from the receptionist to the board of directors. This 10-step guide by Saratoga Systems aims to take some of the risk out of...

CheckFree becomes U.S. Postal Service's e-biller.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... In April Atlanta-based CheckFree announced that the United States Postal Service had entered into a strategic alliance in which CheckFree would become the electronic billing and payment provider for the Postal Service's Internet portal, now...

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to offer online appointment scheduling.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... Pacific Gas and Electric Co. recently began offering its 8.3 million gas and electric customers an online interaction with www.pge.com/online to schedule appointments, make payment arrangements and review their accounts.

Orcom names new CFO following acquisition by Livewire Utilities.(Orcom Solutions names Gary Laurence chief financial officer)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Bend, Ore.-based Orcom Solutions, an application service provider for the utility industry, has named Gary Lawrence Chief Financial Officer following its acquisition in March by LiveWire Utilities, LLC. Lawrence previously was Director of...

Singapore Power to build dedicated "vortal" for utilities marketplace.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... ProcureNet, Inc., a provider of e-Procurement solutions and Horizon.com Ltd. (Horizon), one of Singapore's developers of e-commerce solutions, recently partnered with Singapore Power to deliver e-procurement services to the utilities market in...

Novazen changes name to Solant, Inc.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Boulder, Colo.-based Novazen Inc., a provider of Internet-based software for Internet customer care, electronic bill presentment and payment and bill consolidation announced that it has changed its corporate name to Solant (soh-LONT), Inc.

Peace launches new browser user interface.(new version of the Peace Software Peace Energy System)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Atlanta-based Peace Software recently launched its new version of the Peace Energy System, version 5.3. New features include: new object-oriented design for browser-based user interface; streamlined applications, new interfaces for bill print,...

Boston Globe uncovers unhappy online customers.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... Portraying itself as the Web's first energy and communications "superstore" and acting as an intermediary between consumers and vendors selling everything from long-distance phone service to electricity, Essential.com consumers can supposedly...

Just in Time introduces BillCast.(Internet billing and customer care software)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... San Francisco-based Just in Time Solutions, a provider of Internet billing and interactive customer care software, recently announced the introduction of BillCast 2.5, the latest generation of the company's standards-based (OFX, IFX) Internet...

Avistar invests $3 million in AMDAX.com.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... AMDAX.com, a new energy industry Web group, announced a new partnership with Avistar Inc., an integrator of energy metering, billing and risk management solutions. Avistar will invest $3 million in the AMDAX venture and provide a suite of...

IPO-bound Excelergy files statement with SEC.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Cambridge, Mass.-based Excelergy Corp. has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering of shares of its common stock. The company offers business-to-business transaction...

CheckFree expands into NE market.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... Atlanta-based CheckFree (NASDAQ:CKFR) and Northeast Utilities (NU), New England's largest electric utility, announced the availability of e-billing and payment services to the more than 1.3 million customers of NU subsidiaries, the Connecticut...

Expert lessons, tips, current opportunities in power arbitrage.(Interview)
May 1, 2000... Not for the faint-hearted, the business of arbitrage-the simultaneous purchase of one commodity against the sale of another in order to profit from fluctuations in the price relationship--is a dicey game of steely nerve, flush capital reserves...

Altrade Power sets online daily record of 120 million MWh.(online trading exchange for wholesale power)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Houston-based Altra Energy Technologies, Inc., together with its partners Amerex Power and Prebon Energy, recently released trading statistics for Altrade Power, an independent online trading exchange for wholesale power. In February of this...

APX clarifies e-commerce woes on FERC jurisdiction.(Automated Power Exchange Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Santa Clara, California-based Automated Power Exchange Inc. (APX), a provider of e-commerce services for the electricity industry, recently attempted to clarify the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruling in Automated...

Be Free and Utility.com partner to build marketing program.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Marlborough, Mass.-based Utility.com and Albany, Calif.-based Be Free, Inc. (Nasdaq: BERE), a performance marketing company, and Ulility.com, an Internet-based utility company, recently launched a performance-based affiliate marketing program....

Innovative Electricity Agreement signed with NewEnergy.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... ACWA-USA, a joint powers authority created in 1996 by the Association of California Water Agencies to pool water agency demands for the purchase of utility services, announced a series of new agreements with energy service provider NewEnergy...

Select Energy signs onto Enermetrix.com's exchange.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Enermetrix.com announced that Select Energy, an energy-marketing subsidiary of Northeast Utilities, has joined the online energy exchange provided by Enermetrix.com to facilitate the selling of electricity and natural gas to commercial and...

Natsource spearheads the consulting business.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... New York-based Natsource, L.L.C. announced today the hiring of Bill Klun as Managing Director, who will lead the firm's newly formed Advisory Services unit. The Natsource Advisory Services group will initially consult in environmental...

Southern Company and Utility.com now partnered.(Southern Company Energy Marketing)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Southern Company Energy Marketing and Albany, Calif.-based Utility.com announced a partnership to provide Southern Company Energy Marketing's wholesale electricity to Utility.com's customers via the Internet. Southern Company Energy Marketing...

Energy Crossroads holds first transmission e-auction.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Irvine, Calif.-based Energy Crossroads, Inc. (www.energycrossroads.com), the e-partner of choice for small- to mid-sized utilities, recently made its debut on the Web by holding the first Internet auction of transmission for a municipal...

Altra boosts liquidity through alliance of "market makers".(Altra Energy Technologies)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Altra Energy Technologies, Inc. announced that it has entered into a strategic alliance with three major market makers: American Electric Power (AEP), BP Amoco and Koch Industries in order to increase liquidity and strengthen its position as an...

New company battles physics to deliver power line Internet.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... High-speed Internet access over power lines may be tested by some U.S. utilities later this year. In Japan, power line telecommunication (PLT) begins a test run next month. Industry skeptics ask, "Will it work this time?" Although power...

Enron gleans prizes in broadband market.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Houston Enron realizes its fiber-optic network puts it in the catbird's seat for digital communications. And it's not wasting any time to harvest the unclaimed prizes. Enron Broadband Services Inc., a subsidiary of Enron Corp.,...

Six companies form fiber-optic venture.(America's Fiber Network)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... American Electric Power, GPU and Allegheny Energy will own 90 percent of the venture, America's Fiber Network. FirstEnergy will hold the rest with CFW Communications and R&B Communications. The venture will link small communities to cities that...

Consortium plans e-procurement exchange.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Fifteen energy companies--American Electric Power, Cinergy, Consolidated Edison, Duke Energy, Edison International, Entergy, FirstEnergy Corp., FPL Group, PG&E Corp., Public Service Enterprise Group, Reliant Energy, Sempra Energy, Southern Co.,...

Navigant Consulting, ESRI and Miner & Miner partner.(alliance to enhance geographic information systems capabilities)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Navigant Consulting Inc., ESRI and Miner & Miner are forming a strategic alliance to increase geographic information systems (GIS) capabilities within the utility industry. ESRI is the developer of ArcInfo 8 and ArcFM, GIS software packages....

HTE unveils Internet gateway.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... HTE Inc., an industry enterprise-wide software solutions provider serving public sector organizations and utilities, announced it has established the architecture for the Internet gateway that will link HTE's public sector software applications...

GDT releases first Smallworld Data Model.(Geographic Data Technology Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Geographic Data Technology Inc., developer of map databases announced the alpha release of its Smallworld Data Model. The alpha model contains a subset of objects derived from GDT's Dynamap/ Transportation product. It provides a reference and...

Avista Corp. forms new venture.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Avista Corp. announced the formation of Avista Ventures, a new affiliate company that will focus on aligning investment and acquisition activities in the areas of energy, information and technology. Avista Ventures has completed an initial...

CP&L launches statusgo.com.(Carolina Power & Light)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Carolina Power & Light launched statusgo.com, a division of the company's IT Services Department. statusgo.com offers businesses and organizations specialized software and IT capabilities, which allows them to perform a variety of operational...

PJM Interconnection receives Smithsonian award.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... PJM Interconnection LLC's Customer Choice Project became part of the Permanent Research Collection on Information Technology at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in early April when the 2000 Information Technology Innovation...

SDG&E selects Centricity.(San Diego Gas and Electric, CES International Centricity)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... San Diego Gas and Electric, subsidiary of Sempra Energy, will use CES International as its prime contractor to support its personnel in the deployment of the CES International Centricity operations resource management system. The project calls...

ABB & Itron offer wireless meter reading.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... ABB Electricity Metering announced the Itron/UTS (Utility Translation Systems) multi-vendor data collection system (MV-90) will now support ABB's ALPHA STARS communications interface. Customers using MV-90 will be able to read ABB's ALPHA Plus....

PPL implements rapid mail system for payment processing.(PPL Electric Utility Corp.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... Allentown Year 2000 compliance prompted PPL Electric Utility Corp. to investigate ways to expand its remittance processing capabilities and improve customer service. The utility company, located in Allentown, Pa., found that the...

Question status quo, but take positive approach.(Column)
May 1, 2000... HOW you view yourself, your colleagues and your company can help or hinder your career. If, for example, you cannot respect the other person's point of view, your chances of working together with him successfully are substantially reduced. If...

Commodity play: U.S. businesses seek broader range of services from energy suppliers.(RKS Research & Consulting survey)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... North Salem, New York A new national survey by RKS Research & Consulting shows that larger customers are stepping up switching, shopping and supplier re-evaluations. Plus, a majority of American businesses now believe that as long as their...