Electric Light & Power articles from November 2006

Electric Light & Power archives from November 2006

Events.(Calendar)
November 1, 2006... NOVEMBER Nov. 8-9 Energy Venture Fair VII http://www.energyventurefair.com/ Santa Clara, California Nov. 28-30 Power-Gen International www.power-gen.com Orlando, Florida DECEMBER Dec. 05-07 ...

Commentary.(electric industry challenges)(Viewpoint essay)
November 1, 2006... Mental exercises can be entertaining. Pat Wood, former FERC chairman, said he enjoys making lists. He recently came up with The Top Five Power Delivery Events of the Last 14 Months: ITC going public, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the rapid...

Governing in the gray: prospective buyers pose a challenge for incumbent utility directors.(NEWS/ANALYSIS)(utility acquisitions )
November 1, 2006... Utilities, unlike most enterprises acquired in recent years by private equity firms, hedge funds, corporate raiders and multinational conglomerates, are, by nature, deeply imbued with the social and political fabric of their communities. By...

Power surge: utility companies pump up process improvement with Six Sigma.(NEWS/ANALYSIS)
November 1, 2006... Identifying defects, measuring capabilities, considering variations. A powerful process improvement surge is coursing through the utility industry. Whether the focus is energy consumption, safety and risk management, or infrastructure recovery,...

Regulations spur plant optimization: C[O.sub.2] restrictions encourage new technologies that will help coal-fired generation evolve.(NEWS/ANALYSIS)
November 1, 2006... Environmental issues have been in the spotlight recently thanks to a confluence of new regulations and election year publicity efforts. For the power industry, the focus is on tightening existing rules for NOx, SOx and particulate matter, the...

Utilities can play a role in attracting high-tech industry: National Grid supported growth in upstate N.Y.'s "Tech Valley".(NEWS/ANALYSIS)
November 1, 2006... Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) announced in June that the company intended to build a semiconductor fabrication plant, known as a "fab," at the Luther Forest Technology Campus (LFTC) in Saratoga County, N.Y. AMD's project is the culmination...

Personal data: keep it secure.(COLUMNS: Customer Service, Utility Style)
November 1, 2006... It seems as if there are news articles every day about the theft or loss of personal customer data. In fact, our local newspaper itself made the headlines for loss of data when it recycled computer reports to wrap newspaper bundles. The...

Open grid still elusive: could an investment vehicle from the '60s hold the key?(COLUMNS: Taking It Into Account)(electric utilites lease their transmission system to real estate investment trusts)
November 1, 2006... To provide nondiscriminatory access to the nation's high voltage power grid has been the primary federal regulatory goal of the electric power industry for at least a decade. Buckets of regulatory ink have been devoted to open access...

Building a billion dollar power plant: utilities want exemptions to competitive procurement processes.(COLUMNS: Benefit of Counsel)
November 1, 2006... Across the country, vertically integrated utilities are arguing before their state commissions, sometimes successfully, that they should be allowed to circumvent established competitive bidding processes for building new generation resources to...

Build or by? The risk management data conundrum.(COLUMNS: Risk & Technology)
November 1, 2006... Utility companies that see the wisdom of embracing the concepts of consolidating and sharing data to enhance the management of their risk profiles face challenges beyond the typical hoarding that takes place within business silos. For most, the...

2005 operating performance rankings: nuclear and coal came on strong again.(Industry Report)(Statistical table)(Company rankings)
November 1, 2006... For the fifth year in a row, Electric Light & Power has teamed with Energy Ventures Analysis (EVA) to put together one of our most popular industry reports, the Operating Performance Rankings. Tom Hewson, EVA principal, provided the numbers...

2006 Utility of the Year. MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company.(chairman and CEO, David Sokol talks about the success of the company)(Interview)
November 1, 2006... We are proud to announce our selection for 2006 Utility of the Year: MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company. Each year, Electric Light & Power chooses one company in our industry that has set itself apart. This year's selection has all the...

Financing large projects: the tussle between lender and third-party contractors--especially the sponsor.(SECTIONS: Finance)
November 1, 2006... There's a Mexican proverb that reminds us a good resolution is like an old horse, often saddled but rarely ridden. In a typical project financing, important project counterparties, such as the power purchaser, fuel supplier, landlord or EPC...

Merchant index continues recovery.(Exclusive C Three Equity Index)
November 1, 2006... The merchant index continues to climb, as these companies work to recover from the post-Enron environment, retiring debt, gaining operational efficiencies, and enjoying the decline in natural gas prices. For more, visit the C Three Group...

Searching for hedge funds: the dark matter of the electricity universe.(SECTIONS: Risk Management)
November 1, 2006... At first glance, hedge funds appear to provide the dark matter of the energy industry, invisibly fueling physical asset acquisitions and energy trading, but detected only when exploding with enormous profits or losses. Although an...

IT integration improves maintenance performance: linking ERP with project management systems has delivered certifiable results.(SECTIONS: Generation)
November 1, 2006... By linking enterprise resource planning and project management systems, electric utilities can make the most of their IT investments while significantly improving performance. Integrating separate systems--and doing so in a way that will...

Managing outsourced teams: utilities can monitor the progress of in-house and outsourced projects.(SECTIONS: IT/CIS & CRM)
November 1, 2006... To stay competitive, successful utilities are committed to reconciling the cost benefits of outsourcing non-core services with their dedication to maintaining customer satisfaction and performance. Organizations such as TXU, Xcel Energy and...

Planning for the future: executive advisory panel meets for the first time.(CIS Week)(Commonwealth of Independent States)
November 1, 2006... The CIS Conference planning committee and board of directors, all volunteers from utility companies in the United States and Canada, met in September to review potential speaker presentations for CIS Week, May 21-24, 2007, in Orlando, Fla. This...

Residential demand response: an intelligent way forward.(SECTION: T&D)
November 1, 2006... Demand response has delivered significant value for utilities and customers in the commercial and industrial customer segment for many years. Bulk energy consumers have achieved significant savings through time-of-use rates, peak pricing and...

Suedeen Kelly.(Profile Light)(Federal Energy Regulatory Commission)(Interview)
November 1, 2006... Suedeen Kelly... was appointed to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in December 2004. Kelly was a professor of law at the University of New Mexico School of Law and chair of the New Mexico Public Service Commission. Three new...