Electric Light & Power articles from September 2002

Electric Light & Power archives from September 2002

Power security in a bottle: who pays for the safety salve?
September 1, 2002... Since the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, the energy industry has examined security issues with a magnifying glass. Both physical and cyber security have been dissected, and it seemed like no detail could have possibly escaped debate. Yet, new...

Waiting in the wings. (Commentary).(Miller McConville and Co.)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
September 1, 2002... For many investors, balance sheets and financial statements of energy companies are now most suited for use as kindling as we approach the winter season. (The sworn statements of executives attesting to the integrity of these documents are...

Judge projects settlement. (Legal & Regulatory).
September 1, 2002... A judge with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) stated that he expects Williams and four other energy firms to settle the State of California's claim stemming from accusations that the companies overcharged the state for power....

FERC issues NOPR. (Legal & Regulatory).(Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Notice of Proposing Rulemaking)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... In a Notice of Proposing Rulemaking (NOPR), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) proposed a series of changes to bring to fruition the kinds of markets envisioned in orders Nos. 888 and 2000. The NOPR is designed to create genuine...

FERC's NOPR garners praise, support. (Legal & Regulatory).(Federal Energy Regulatory Commission)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) applauded the NOPR, stating that the Commission was outlining a "bright future for America's electric system." The Coalition of Midwest Transmission Customers, the PJM Industrial Customer...

Pepco, Conectiv complete merger. (Mergers and Acquisitions).(Potomac Electric Power Co.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Potomac Electric Power Co. (Pepco) has completed its merger with Wilmington, Del.-based Conectiv. The two companies will retain their names and continue to operate separately. Each company will be a subsidiary of Pepco Holdings Inc. (PHI), a...

National Grid weighs in on U.S. transmission market. (View from the Top).(Interview)
September 1, 2002... National Grid USA's Nick Winser, senior vice president with responsibility for transmission strategy and development in the U.S., spoke with EL&P shortly after FERC issued its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on standard market design. As an...

MidAmerican to get Northern Natural Gas. (Mergers and Acquisitions).(MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Dynegy has agreed to sell Northern Natural Gas Co. to MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. for $928 million in cash, subject to adjustment for working capital changes. Under the terms of this agreement, MidAmerican Energy will acquire all of the...

GL&V signs letter of intent to acquire EIMCO. (Mergers and Acquisitions).(EIMCO Process Equipment)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... GL&V has signed a letter of intent with Baker Hughes Incorporated to acquire its EIMCO Process Equipment division (EIMCO). Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, EIMCO is a supplier of high-performance technologies for liquid/solid separation...

Washington Group selected by Exelon. (Project and Contracts).(Exelon Nuclear)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Washington Group International has been selected by Exelon Nuclear as "engineer of choice" to provide engineering services for its 17 nuclear power generating units at 10 sites in Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Jersey over the next three years....

Framatome to supply fuel reload. (Project and Contracts).(to Energy Northwest)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Framtome ANP has been awarded a contract by Energy Northwest to supply nuclear fuel reloads at the Columbia Generating Station in 2003, 2005, 2007, and possibly in two additional cycles in 2009 and 2011. Framatome ANP will also provide an...

Lockwood Greene awarded EPC project. (Project and Contracts).(engineer, procure, construct)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Lockwood Greene has been awarded an engineer, procure and construct (EPC) power project by Jones LG. The Silverhawk Project is a 570 MW plant to be located near Las Vegas. It is scheduled for completion in 29 months, having begun in January...

NPPD begins negotiations. (Project and Contracts).(Nebraska Public Power District)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... The Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) board of directors gave their approval to begin negotiating a nuclear power plant operating services agreement with the Nuclear Management Company (NMC) to operate Cooper Nuclear Station. The Nuclear...

Calpine's Acadia up and running. (Project and Contracts).(Acadia Power Partners L.L.C.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2002... Acadia Power Partners LLC, a 50/50 joint venture between Calpine and Cleco Midstream Resources, announced that the Acadia Power Project has entered operations and will generate more than 1,000 MW of power in the region. Construction of the...

Texas-New Mexico Power Co. (Executive Appointments).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Scott Forbes has been promoted to senior vice president, chief financial and accounting officer. Douglas Hobbs is senior vice president, chief operations officer. Joe Hegwood was named assistant controller.

CMS Energy. (Executive Appointments).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Thomas J. Webb was appointed executive vice president and chief financial officer.

EEI. (Executive Appointments).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Erroll B. Davis, chairman, president and CEO of Alliant Energy Corp., was elected chairman. Allen Franklin, chairman, present and CEO of Southern Co., was elected first vice-chairman; Wayne Brunetti, president and CEO of Xcel Energy, was...

American Public Power Assn. (Executive Appointments).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Mark Crisson, director of utilities for Tacoma Public Utilities, was named chairman of the board of directors. Glenn Cannon, general manager of Waverly Light & Power, was named chair-elect. Jan Shori, general manager of Sacramento Municipal...

APX. (Executive Appointments).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Dan Steimle is chief financial officer.

Ogling the significant assets of dispersed generation. (Executive Insights).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... As managers in today's energy business, do we have anything left to manage? Or are we merely custodians of a broken system? The past year has brought upon us the ugly story of Enron, the collapse of the merchant power market model and a...

New England implements attributes tracking system. (News).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... As a result of an innovative new generation information system, retail suppliers of electricity in New England are now able to use tradable "certificates" representing the fuel source, emissions and other attributes of power to demonstrate...

On-site power gets down to business. (News).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Although the prices for natural gas, fuel oil and electricity are not as volatile as they were a year ago, and brownouts and blackouts haven't made the national headlines for months, corporate managers--from the facility manager on up to the...

The sweet purr of the corporate engine: a look at the advantages of dashboards. (News).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Once a conservative and safe haven for investors, the energy industry is under scrutiny by analysts, media and politicians. Do we have access to sufficient and relevant data to succinctly view health and progress in the corporate cockpits? The...

More tax dollars likely earmarked to bolster utilities. (Finance).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Utilities continue to falter in the wake of debacles such as Pacific Gas and Electric (NYSE:PCG) and California Edison's ongoing implosions. Across the nation, taxpayers are being tasked with the extra burden of financing either worst-case...

CFO's finance reform hits IT, staffing, costs. (Finance).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Most CFOs of 265 large U.S.-based corporations indicate that, while accounting scandals and the recession are driving the transformation of financial departments, their departments may not be able to meet the challenge. Inadequate processes,...

Southern Co.'s annual report garners award. (Finance Briefs).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Southern Co.'s 2001 annual report recently won the "best of online annual reports" award in the 2002 International Annual Report Competition (ARC) Awards. The International ARC Awards, celebrating its sixteenth year, garners nearly 1,600...

Williams closes asset sales. (Finance Briefs).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Williams recently announced a series of transactions that "resolve liquidity issues and greatly strengthen the company's finances," according to Williams. The transactions delivered net cash proceeds of $1.4 billion from asset sales and $2...

Merrill catches eye of investors. (Finance Briefs).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Merrill Lynch began an ad campaign in August to reassure investors that it remains a strong way to "manage the bear." The campaign kicked off with an eight-page spread in The Wall Street Journal. According to a Reuters report, Merrill Lynch is...

FirstEnergy sales agreements canceled. (Finance Briefs).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... FirstEnergy Corp. notified NRG Energy and its NRG Able Acquisition LLC affiliate that the agreements to sell four power plants to the Minneapolis, Minn.-based company have been canceled "because of the affiliate's anticipatory breach of certain...

Avista settles litigation. (Finance Briefs).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Avista Corp. reached an agreement in principle to settle a lawsuit filed in April 2000 against company subsidiary Pentzer by Creative Solutions Group Inc. of Boston. The agreement calls for a settlement payment in the amount of $9.25 million....

Financial rankings 2001: inventory of black eyes & bruises. (Industry Report).(Standard and Poor's Corp. rating of electric utilities)
September 1, 2002... Not many investors will wax nostalgic about the overall financial state of energy companies in 2001. Utilities, in general, probably won't be including the year in any retrospective looks at historical high points. For many people...

DISCO of the future may play more than one tune. (Transmission & Distribution).(decipher what the distribution company (often shortened to "DISCO"))(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... It won't look a thing like Studio 54, but the DISCO of the future may still have a beat you can dance to. More than one organization has attempted to decipher what the distribution company (often shortened to "DISCO") may evolve into. Will...

GE, Power Engineers garner BPA contract. (Transmission & Distribution).(Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) contract with GE Industrial Systems and Power Engineers Inc.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... GE Industrial Systems, a unit of General Electric Company, and Power Engineers Inc. have secured a contract with the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) for power capacity projects worth a total of $42 million. The projects are part of a...

AES NewEnergy selects RETX. (T&D Briefs).(Retx Inc. contract with AES NewEnergy for load response management system)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... RETX has been contracted by AES NewEnergy to provide its load response management system for the New England area. The RETX Load Management Dispatcher service will be used by AES NewEnergy to participate in ISO New England's load response...

Aggreko launches portable line. (T&D Briefs).(Aggreko PLC)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
September 1, 2002... Aggreko's portable electrical distribution equipment is the first such line to be listed by Underwriters Laboratories (UL), according to Aggreko. Prior to Aggreko's UL-listed portable distribution equipment, companies installing or moving...

TXU Energy joins Neptune. (T&D Briefs).(TXU Energy invests in Atlantic Energy Partners L.L.C.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... TXU Energy, a subsidiary of TXU, will provide $15 million in development capital to Atlantic Energy Partners LLC, the consortium developing the Neptune Regional Transmission System, a 1,200 MW transmission link between New Jersey and New York....

DSTAR software locates cable. (T&D Briefs).
September 1, 2002... The Distribution Systems Testing, Application, and Research (DSTAR) program has developed a graphically-oriented software for calculating the parameters of underground distribution cables. Cable Electrical Parameters Software (CEPS) performs...

Empire State looks to demand response. (T&D Briefs).(New York electric utilities set programs to reduce consumer demand during peak demand)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... A coordinated campaign among energy agencies, New York's electricity market and grid operator, and large electric utility companies is expected to enable New York to reduce demand for electricity by at least 1,300 MW, should the need arise...

SeTrans grid plan criticized. (T&D Briefs).(Duke Energy Corp. critical of new grid plan called SeTrans)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... The proposed SeTrans grid is getting some mild disapproval from industrial sources (mostly steel companies) and Duke Energy Corp. Participating in the FERC review of the proposal (where the commission reviews industry input), the dissenters...

PECO installs automated meter. (T&D Briefs).(PECO Energy Co.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... PECO Energy and its partners are completing the deployment of the largest meter automation project in the nation, according to the company. It installed its two millionth meter this past week in suburban Philadelphia. PECO said the project is...

Cargill, ERMCO, Waverly form alliance. (T&D Briefs).(Waverly Light and Power acquires technology and patents from Cargill Industrial Oils and Lubricants)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Cargill Industrial Oils and Lubricants has purchased Waverly Light and Power's technology and patents for a soy-based transformer oil used in electrical transformers and related products. Cargill will make this BioTrans brand soy-based product...

ALSTOM wins contract. (T&D Briefs).(Manitoba Hydro contract with Alstom S.A.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... ALSTOM has won a order in excess of 10 million euros for three high-voltage direct current (HVDC) converter transformers with Canadian utility Manitoba Hydro. This brings the total number of such transformers ordered by the utility from ALSTOM...

California proved hedging can be painful. (Electric & Gas Trading).(use of hedging and price strategy for electric utilities)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... The "California Crisis" may have disappeared from the front pages, but organizations that purchased forward contracts at high-water prices in the spring of 2001 continue to feel the pain. Power and natural gas prices have dropped so low that...

In scandal's wake, traders stay afloat through image overhaul. (Electric & Gas Trading).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... The year 2002 could easily be remembered as the year of scandal for the energy trading industry, scandals that have left a perception that will forever alter the future of competition in energy trading. Looking forward for the energy...

Aquila says goodbye to wholesale trading. (E&GT Briefs).(Aquila Inc. to discontinue energy trading business)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Aquila Inc. will exit the wholesale energy trading business by the end of this month, according to AP sources. In June, Aquila announced that they would shift away from energy trading, looking for a partner or buyer for that side of the...

TradeSpark offers VMAC. (E&GT Briefs).(New credit transfer and netting system)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
September 1, 2002... Virtual Markets Assurance Corp. (VMAC) and TradeSpark LP are beginning technical development allowing the VMAC credit transfer and netting system to be available via the TradeSpark marketplace. TradeSpark plans to make the platform available to...

Advantica Stoner introduces forecaster. (E&GT Briefs).(New software predicts future energy demand)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
September 1, 2002... Advantica Stoner recently released Forecaster 1.0, which predicts short-term daily and hourly future energy demand for an entire customer portfolio, from companies with just a few customer groupings to those with thousands of individual...

AMR MVPs utilize technology to win the game. (Information Technology Customer Systems).(Strategic tool offers quantifiable benefits for corporate management)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2002... Utilities, employees, customers and shareholders need 'fixed network' AMR today. We have supported utilities in AMR projects that have gone to implementation involving over 5 million meters with every business case, reflecting positive...

Sierra Pacific extends contract with ORCOM. (IT/CS Briefs).(California service area under new outsourced business contract)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... The California service area of Sierra Pacific Power Co. has signed on for a five-year extension of their existing outsourcing contract with ORCOM. The California service area of Sierra Pacific relies on ORCOM for a number of outsourced customer...

Enerwise adds Ameren to network. (IT/CS Briefs).(Advanced energy information services)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Enerwise Global Technologies has added St. Louis-based Ameren Corp. to its network of preferred utility partners. Enerwise's national network enables participating utilities' customers to quickly implement advanced energy information services...

Apogee powers portal. (IT/CS Briefs).(Onlien energy-related and utility-specific training courses)(Internet/Web/Online Service Information)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... More than 2,000 community and state-owned electric utilities nationwide can now access online training through the American Public Power Assn.'s (APPA) new e-learning portal powered by Apogee Interactive Inc. Introduced at the association's...

Web alert: time to get serious about energy conservation info. (Information Technology Customer Systems).(Utility companies' Web sites offer energy conservation information)(Internet/Web/Online Service Information)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Many utility company Web sites are not very helpful to either residential or business customers seeking serious information about energy conservation. Utility company Web sites often don't clearly identify energy conservation information,...

Cleaning house: how technologies take equipment data management from pre-digital to post-virtual. (Information Technology Customer Systems).(Internet and software tools used by utilities companies)(International Pages)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2002... Imagine bringing your car in to your mechanic for some much-needed repair and maintenance work. You spend hours waiting in the lobby only to have him return, shrug his shoulders and apologize that he's looked everywhere, but can't seem to find...

Dynamic reactive power requirements, my friend, are blowin' in the wind. (Technology).(Strong growth of U.S. production of wind energy)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2002... The development of wind energy has expanded very rapidly in the past five years. According to the American Wind Energy Association (www.AWEA.org), the amount of wind generation installed in the U.S. more than doubled between 1998 and 2001. With...

Foster Wheeler garners Cinergy order. (Tech Briefs).(New $75 mn selective catalytic reduction contract)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2002... Foster Wheeler Power Group Inc. has been awarded additional business for selective catalytic reduction (SOR) installations under an existing business alliance with Cinergy Services Inc. The value of the order is approximately $75 million for...

Pratt & Whitney install transportable power. (Tech Briefs).(San Diego transportable power plant)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... CalPeak achieved commercial operation of its 50 MW El Cajon facility located outside of San Diego this summer. The facility is the inaugural site for the Pratt & Whitney transportable power plant product, the SWIFTPAC 50. Pratt & Whitney...

FENOC acquires vessel head. (Tech Briefs).(Replacement reactor head has estimated cost of between $55 mn to $75 mn)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (FENOC) has purchased an unused replacement reactor vessel head for the Davis-Basse Nuclear Power Station. The head will come from Consumers Energy's Midland Nuclear Plant, which was never completed as a...

Don't let fears cramp your creativity. (Management Methods).(Creative individuals)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... The more original an idea, the more open it is to criticism. There's a good reason for that. A fresh idea challenges the status quo and people tend to resist change. Fear of this resistance--as it manifests itself in criticism--may be...

Primer on asset management. (Power Pointers).(Power industry asset management)
September 1, 2002... Superior asset management is a critical part of attaining maximum profitability. This month, EL&P invited Steve Brennan of the Instrumentation & Controls division of Siemens Westinghouse Power Corp. to provide the basics on this part of the...