Electric Light & Power articles from October 2000

Electric Light & Power archives from October 2000

Industry to ground control: it's not the market; it's the wires.
October 1, 2000... It's terribly hard to distinguish one voice in an agitated mob--like someone calling your name in a crowded shopping mall. Did you really hear a whine, or was it a trick of rushing air and hollow surface echoes? Such is the burning question...

Multiple "irons in the fire" contribute to Reliant's financial rating.
October 1, 2000... Standard & Poor's corporate finance group rated Reliant Energy Mid-Atlantic BBB, according to a recent teleconference on the subject. Currently, the main focus of Standard & Poor's is the split between Reliant's regulated and non-regulated...

The jury's still out.
October 1, 2000... I recently fulfilled my civic duty to serve on a jury. Libel, slander and invasion of privacy were charged by the plaintiffs attorney and were woefully challenged by the defendant's attorney. Besides at times having to refrain from shouting...

Brits buy Niagara.
October 1, 2000... National Grid Group PLC, headquartered in Coventry, has clinched a $3 billion merger with Niagara Mohawk, the second-largest electric and gas utility in New York state. The merger, if approved, would mean that more than half of the operating...

Entergy sells Texas.
October 1, 2000... Entergy Wholesale Operations has signed a definitive agreement with Calpine Corp. for sale of 100 percent of its Freestone, Texas, power project, a 1,000 MW, natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plant located about 80 miles southeast of...

Alliant to shell out big bucks.
October 1, 2000... Alliant Energy Resources Inc., a subsidiary of Alliant Energy Corp., has invested $10 million in Nth Power Technologies Fund II LP Nth Power's Fund II is a venture capital fund which invests in rapid growth businesses addressing large market...

Entergy, Framatome to team.
October 1, 2000... Entergy Nuclear and Framatome Technologies have signed a memorandum of understanding to offer operating license-renewal services to nuclear power plants in the U.S. Their major collective focus will be pressurized water reactor technology.

Panda, Entergy tied together.
October 1, 2000... Panda Energy International's project affiliate, Union Power Partners LP and Entergy Arkansas Inc. have signed an interconnection agreement that will allow 2,720 MW of new electric power to enter the wholesale marketplace beginning in 2002....

Creating markets for innovation in utilities.
October 1, 2000... A key lesson from the capital markets over the past few years is that investors want, and are willing to pay, significant premiums for innovation. Similarly, those companies that continue to operate under the old paradigm--concentrating...

Crafting a deal: Merchants gain location advantage via leased sites.
October 1, 2000... Location, location, location. Merchant project developers and owners are finding that location is king. They're also finding that many merchant projects under development and construction around the United States are sited on land they do not...

Consumers to foot expensive SCR retrofit bill.
October 1, 2000... Consumers in 21 eastern states could be facing a $7-12 billion bite out of their wallets to ensure that coal-powered electric utility plants substantially reduce their [NO.sub.x] emissions by 2003, according to a new study by Fuld & Co., a...

Midwest ISO outlines RTO strategy.
October 1, 2000... Matthew C. Cordaro, president and CEO of the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (MISO), has outlined key operational issues the MISO is addressing in order to meet federal requirements for becoming a regional transmission operator...

People & Companies.
October 1, 2000... Utilities and Associations Stephen L. Baum, vice chairman, president and CEO of Sempra Energy has been appointed chairman. Baum succeeds former chairman Richard D. Farman, who has retired from the company. Baum has served as Sempra...

Consumers could inherit wind, AWEA says, if grid wasn't so biased.
October 1, 2000... Lately, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) has felt a bit like Don Quixote: lots of tilting at windmills. Well, figuratively anyway. Literally, they have those windmills under tight rein: They've finally managed to efficiently...

AEP, Texas's LCRA form transmission venture.
October 1, 2000... American Electric Power Co. Inc. (AEP) and Texas's Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) are forming a $90 million partnership to build a segment of a proposed 219-mile high-voltage power line that will move electricity from wind farms and...

J.D. Power, Navigant let customers voice kudos, complaints about their utilities.
October 1, 2000... Customer satisfaction has become both buzzword and dead horse in this uncomfortable hiatus between regulation and deregulation. That old retail mentality of "the customer is always right" rears its head repetitively at industry conferences...

Technology moves fuels management forward.
October 1, 2000... The deregulation of the utilities industry has posed a new set of challenges for effective fuels management While fuel demand has not changed, the rules of the fuels management business have. Cost-conscious managers can no longer rely on large...

On-line optimization: Cajun captures boiler efficiency benefits.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Like most power plants today, NRG Energy's revenue and profitability depend directly on the ability to sell power on the wholesale electricity market and the costs of production for each unit. Since the value of Cajun's generating assets is...

CMMS comes of age.
October 1, 2000... Choosing a system to manage a utility's physical assets isn't getting easier, as ERP vendors elbow into the market and computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) software matures to meet the challenge. "Maintenance is the one place...

Mincom, CES form alliance.(CES International)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Mincom Inc., a provider of enterprise application solutions for asset intensive industries, and CES International, a global provider of operations resource management software for utilities, announced a strategic alliance. The relationship...

PSDI, MRO supply chain offerings.
October 1, 2000... PSDI, a provider of solutions for streamlining the supply chain for maintenance, repair and operations materials, has launched the PSDI hosting center to provide solutions to customers of its MAXIMP and MRO.COM suite of products. The PSDI...

Caminus, Structure help navigate ISO labyrinth.
October 1, 2000... Caminus Corp. and Structure Consulting Group will jointly provide a collaborative software solution, comprised of Caminus' Zai*Net trading systems and Structure Consulting Group's nMarket business solution for energy companies bidding into...

PacifiCorp to revamp plants.(Westinghouse Process Control Div.)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Westinghouse Process Control Inc., a subsidiary of Emerson Electric Co., has been selected by PacifiCorp to design and implement a new generation of process control and information systems for its power plants in the western United States. The...

Andersen Consulting, Silicon forge ahead.(energy management solutions marketing agreement with Silicon Energy)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Silicon Energy and Andersen Consulting have signed a global marketing alliance to deliver integrated, Web-based enterprise energy management (EEM) solutions to energy service providers and commercial and industrial customers.

Excelergy finds Cap Gemini attractive.(enters software marketing alliance with Cap Gemini Ernst and Young)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Cap Gemini Ernst & Young Corp. and Excelergy Corp. will provide deregulating energy suppliers worldwide with Excelergy's suite, of Web-based software products. The agreement calls for close collaboration between the two firms on sales,...

Joint venture meters Northeast.(Measurement Solutions International and South Jersey Industries to form Measurement Solutions International-Northeast)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Measurement Solutions International and South Jersey Industries have signed a letter of intent agreeing to form a joint venture company, Measurement Solutions International-Northeast, to provided a full range of metering and measurement...

USPowerSolutions pockets coin.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... USPowerSolutions, a B2B service provider of e-commerce infrastructure technology for the deregulated energy industry, has closed $3.7 million in series A equity financing. Primary investors included: Aconcagua Capital Group; Osborn Capital;...

Entergy selects Indus.(Indus International to replace legacy materials and contract management systems)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Entergy Corp. selected Indus International to replace legacy materials and contract management systems as part of a comprehensive effort to leverage new technology. Indus' enterprise asset management solution will be implemented across...

SAP certifies Meridium.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 2000... Meridium enterprise management system has received certification from SAP; this certification applies to Meridium's interface to SAP's R/3 plant maintenance module, which allows Meridium's software to use SAP PM data for advanced equipment...

Automatic vehicle location boosts efficiency.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Automatic vehicle location technology is now being used by National Grid USA's (formerly New England Electric System) retail companies to not only improve operating efficiency and customer service, but also to enhance the safety of its mobile...

Frost & Sullivan reveal driving force in turbine market.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... The combined cycle configuration is a driving force in the gas and steam turbine markets, increasing efficiency of electricity production and leading to more orders of electricity-generating equipment According to new strategic research...

Carbon capture projects green-lighted by DOE.(Department of Energy)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... You've heard the old saying "making a silk purse out of a sow's ear." The Department of Energy (DOE) is trying to apply that adage to a new problem: greenhouse gases. The DOE has chosen 13 research ideas (out of nearly sixty submitted...

Partnerships target [SF.sub.6] emissions.(sulfur hexafluoride emissions)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Since April 1998, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has worked with the utility industry to voluntarily reduce emissions of sulfur hexafluoride ([SF.sub.6]), which is used as an insulating medium in electric equipment. As of Aug....

Ashes to AEP, dust to dust.(American Electric Power recycles coal dust and scrubber residue)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... American Electric Power will ease its reliance on landfills by recycling coal ash and scrubber residue into a material designed to replace concrete in construction projects. Geracrete Technologies Inc., a subsidiary of Environmental Solutions...

Westinghouse steams ANO-2.(steam generators for nuclear plant)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Westinghouse Electric Co. has delivered two replacement steam generators for Entergy's ANO-2 nuclear power plant in Russeliville, Ark. ANO-2 is a CE-designed pressurized water reactor with a gross electrical output of 941 MW. The steam...

EPRI launches coal initiative.(Electric Power Research Institute)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... The Electric Power Research Institute (ERPI) has formed a project called the Global Coal Initiative. The initiative will accelerate research on producing power from coal in a cleaner manner and with more flexibility to use coals from around the...

Metallic Power glistens under spotlight.(successful demonstration of fuel-cell power source)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Metallic Power has successfully demonstrated a fuel-cell-based portable power source. The device provides more than one kWh of energy using a single sealed fuel cartridge containing zinc and electrolyte. Users will be able to refuel simply by...

American Superconductor gets in under the wire.(Pirelli Cables and Systems)(Detroit Edison Co.)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... American Superconductor Corp. has completed all of the high temperature superconducting (HTS) wire needed to manufacture the world's first HTS power cable to be installed in a utility grid. Just over 18 miles of HTS wire were manufactured and...

Active Power partners with Caterpillar.(distribution deal for uninterruptible power supply)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Active Power Inc. has signed a worldwide distribution agreement with Caterpillar Inc. to market the Cat UPS (uninterruptible power supply) system--Caterpillar's initial entry into the power quality market. The battery-free system is the latest...

DTE partners to develop mini-turbines.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... DTE Energy Technologies, an unregulated subsidiary of DTE Energy Co., will sign agreements with Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp. and the Turbo Genset Co. Ltd., of the U.K., for the development of a 400 kW turbine generator. The companies are now...

DOE funds Catalytica.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Catalytica Combustion Systems Inc., a subsidiary of Catalytica Inc., has been awarded $1.6 million under a program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to help fund research and development of durable and cost-effective low...

Consortium looks to the future.(Solid-State Energy Conversion Alliance)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... An industry-government-university consortium led by two Department of Energy (DOE) labs -- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the National Energy Technology Laboratory -- are working toward having solid oxide fuel cells on the market in...

Pitching the invisible commodity: branding power in retail markets.(Industry Overview)
October 1, 2000... What they don't know won't hurt them. That is, until now. Times were that the most a consumer had to understand about their electricity was where the bathroom and living room switches were located on the wall. But with deregulation barreling...

Intangible assets inside the utility industry.(Industry Overview)
October 1, 2000... Utilities are used to working with the physical plant. Generating plants, transmission and distribution systems are tangible, and have a value that can be easily measured. When the environments were highly regulated, it was easy to rely on...

Early-warning hurricane service helps weather market blips.(from WSI Corp and Energy Security Anaysis)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... WSI Corp. and Energy Security Analysis Inc. (ESAI) just announced the addition of a long-range hurricane alerting feature to their Web-based Energycast PowerTrader and Energycast GasTrader subscription services. These decision-support services...

"The ICE" chills trading volumes.(Intercontintental Exchange)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... IntercontinentalExchange, a recently launched B2B electronic marketplace for over-the-counter (OTC) precious metals and energy products, recently announced that its first week of trading in precious metals spot, forwards, and options hit $370...

Decisioneering upgrades Crystal Ball 2000 risk tool.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Decisioneering Inc. made available its new Crystal Ball 2000, a risk analysis, forecasting and optimization solution which is a Microsoft Excel add-in that uses Monte Carlo simulation to minimize uncertainties in spreadsheet modeling. A new...

Colorado gets powered up with Altra.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... The Public Service Company of Colorado has opted to use Aitra Power 4.0, the latest release of Altra Energy Technologies' power transaction management system used by power generators, traders, schedulers, municipals and other market...

San Diego companies seek shelter from market prices through exchange.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... A growing number of San Diego companies, reeling from skyrocketing energy prices -- and bracing for more long, hot summer days--are taking preventative action by locking in rates through AMDAX (the American Direct Access Exchange), a locally...

Power price shopping: Should you bother?(information from EnergyBuyer.org)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... EnergyBuyer.org, a Web site focused on helping end users get better power pricing, posted its August "Tip Of The Month," which asks if "Shopping For Power: Is This Trip Worth Taking?" That tip reviews reasons why some building managers and...

Reuters: Market for Internet-based services in energy/utility to surpass $170 billion.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Reuter's new Business Insight report, "Energy And The Internet: Strategies For A New Era," forecasts that by 2002 a total of $32.2 billion in commodities will be traded online, $13.9 billion of this will be natural gas and oil. It also...

Connecting customer systems with outage management.(Industry Overview)
October 1, 2000... In disasters, no man-made calamity can match the furious force of Mother Nature. Just ask Dominion Virginia Power, who endured two crippling hurricanes, Dennis in August and Floyd in September, last year alone. Single-handedly and swiftly,...

Coactive and Diverse Networks team to build digital home.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Coactive Networks, a provider of gateways for connecting the Internet to all devices in homes and businesses, recently announced an alliance with Diverse Networks, a network services firm specializing in the design and operation of all types of...

Orcom Solutions awarded CIO-100 award for customer service.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Orcom Solutions, an Application Service Provider of customer care and billing solutions for the utility industry, was awarded the 2000 CIO-100 Award from CIO magazine, an international publication targeted toward IT and business executives. In...

LODESTAR expands in Texas.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... LODESTAR Corp., a provider of eBusiness software to enable customer choice, announced the expansion of its Texas operation to bolster its role in the states energy deregulation plan. LODESTAR will be opening a new Houston office to co-develop...

Web-based service allows users to lease software over Internet.(Datastream Systems' MPXconnect)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2000... Datastream Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: DSTM) unveiled MPXconnect, a comprehensive enterprise asset management service offered as a hosted application. This application service provider deployment model enables end-users to access the software over...

SCT to acquire EnerLink.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... SCT (Nasdaq: SCTC) just announced that it is acquiring the Enertink business unit, a billing and rates management software developer, from SAIC. This acquisition gives SCT increased charge handling and billing capabilities, including interval...

Online customer self-service transforming utilities.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... With deregulation proceeding rapidly in 20 states, brick-and-mortar utilities are looking for ways to efficiently utilize the Internet by getting their customer-service operations online, according to Cap Gemini Ernst & Young US LLC. Formerly...

AES NewEnergy selects Omni-Link platform.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Powerweb Technologies Inc. announced an exclusive agreement with AES NewEnergy LLC for the use of Powerweb's Omni-Link Internet energy platform for selected AES NewEnergy's industrial and commercial retail customers in New York and New Jersey....

WHEN NOT TO DELEGATE.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... There is much talk today about empowering employees, and generally it appears to be an excellent way to unleash people's abilities--providing that you delegate the right things to the right people under the right circumstances. But there are...

BOUNCING BACK FROM FAILURE.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Top management cancels a pet project of yours. Your million dollar idea doesn't pan out. A completed job doesn't much resemble the picture of perfection you've been carrying around in your head. In one way or another, you've failed and feel...

THREE MOTIVATORS THAT WORK.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Getting your people to produce is a never ending challenge. But over a period of time you may unwittingly be slackening off in your efforts in this direction. Use these suggestions as reminders: * Encourage independence. A superior who...

TRIM THE FAT FROM YOUR WORKDAY.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Treat your people as individuals. Never deal with them as impersonal variables in a working unit. Accept the fact that others may not always see things as you do. So far as possible, explain your decisions. Express appreciation...

TRIM THE FAT FROM YOUR WORKDAY.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... If you could somehow cut down on the idle chatter, pointless phone calls, unproductive personal visits and so on that fill your working hours, you might be amazed to learn how many minutes you throw away on the job. Nobody is totally...