Utility Automation & Engineering T&D articles from August 2008

Utility Automation & Engineering T&D archives from August 2008

Get a grip, AI.(FROM THE EDITOR)(Editorial)
August 1, 2008... I love Al Gore. I'm just going to get that out of the way up front. I voted for him for president. I think he's a sharp guy, a good man, a great diplomat. But, these days, he's become a man obsessed. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] He's been...

Uniloc's top ten rules for combating cyber attacks on critical infrastructure.(NEWS)
August 1, 2008... 1 Do serious risk analysis. Determine what your exposure is to identified threats, their consequences, cost of mitigation and risk tolerance. Create a risk profile of critical assets. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 2 Implement policies...

A look at demand response programs and offerings around the U.S.(NEWS)
August 1, 2008... Energy Curtailment Specialists Inc. (ECS), a privately held demand response provider in the United States, announced plans to aggressively launch their demand response program, coined the "PowerPay! New England" Program, throughout the New...

Siemens Cuts Jobs.(EYE ON EUROPE:)
August 1, 2008... Siemens Cuts Jobs: Plans call for Siemens to eliminate approximately 12,600 jobs worldwide. An additional 4,150 jobs will be affected by restructuring projects. Overall, 16,750 jobs will be affected by the planned cutbacks. [ILLUSTRATION...

KUA energizes new substation.(NEWS)
August 1, 2008... Kissimmee Utility Authority energized a new electrical substation that will increase power reliability for parts of Kissimmee. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Named the Pleasant Hill Substation, the $18 million project was developed in an area...

TIDBIT: Utah-based Heber Light and Power Company.(NEWS)
August 1, 2008... TIDBIT: Utah-based Heber Light and Power Company has selected the Sensus Metering Systems' FlexNet advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) solution. Heber's plans call for deployment of the system to more than 9,000 residential and...

ERCOT switching customers.(NEWS)(Electric Reliability Council of Texas Inc. introduces Blu Power)
August 1, 2008... Electric Reliability Council of Texas Inc. (ERCOT), grid operator for most of the state, announced in July that customers of Blu Power of Texas are being switched to providers-of-last-resort (POLRs) at the request of Blu Power. The number...

Department of homeland security sponsored cybersecurity workshop.(NEWS)
August 1, 2008... Top cybersecurity researchers and infrastructure protection specialists from five countries were in Idaho Falls earlier this year participating in an annual international cybersecurity training workshop. The four-day event was sponsored by the...

PG&E selects Aclara to provide smart meter data access.(NEWS)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) has chosen Aclara to provide its customers with access to data being generated by smart meters. The Aclara Software application will launch this year and will enable customers to access daily and, in the case of...

R.W. Beck tells all: reduce voltage.(NEWS)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Reducing the voltage on power distribution can continue meeting consumer expectations while saving energy for both the customer and the utility, according to a recent study performed by R. W. Beck. "Delivering reduced voltage to individual...

When does the utility of the future begin?(OPERATIONS PLANNING)
August 1, 2008... When examining the capstone issues facing utilities who have begun, are on the verge, or are still deciding how and when to begin their "smart grid" journey, it is clear that the central challenges and opportunities are really not confined to...

Quality assurance in the new AMI world.(FOCUS ON AMI)
August 1, 2008... AMI and smart grid initiatives currently under consideration by many utilities depend upon a complex interaction of available and emerging automation, communications and metering technologies. However, there is growing realization by proponents...

Consumer powerline talks empowerment through DR.(TWO VIEWS ON DEMAND RESPONSE)
August 1, 2008... Editor's note: This is the first in a series of special articles on the "ins and outs" of demand response (DR)--and one of two on DR for this issue. The following article is authored by ConsumerPowerline, a provider of demand response solutions...

EnerNOC sells DR to Utilities.(TWO VIEWS ON DEMAND RESPONSE)
August 1, 2008... Editor's note: This is the second in a series of special articles on the "ins and outs" of demand response (DR). The following article is authored EnerNOC, a DR provider based in Boston, and looks at the positives of DR from a utility point of...

WAMS becoming a widely accepted monitoring system.(WAMS)
August 1, 2008... August marks two dates of historical interest in the power industry: the fifth anniversary of the massive 2003 blackout that spread across the northeastern United States and Canada, and the three-year anniversary of the U.S. Energy Policy Act...

Alphabet soup: making sense of maintenance strategies.(SPOTLIGHT ON MAINTENANCE)
August 1, 2008... Over the past several decades, the role of maintenance in electric utilities has made a transition from being a supportive activity in the shadows of capital expansion initiatives to a central activity responsible for ensuring full functional...

Smart utility service.(NEW PRODUCTS)
August 1, 2008... Black & Veatch, a leading global engineering, consulting and construction company, has launched a new set of service offerings, Smart Utility, to provide full-scope solutions in the development and implementation of today's smart grid...

Composite lineman's glove.(NEW PRODUCTS)
August 1, 2008... In compliance with IEC 60903 and EN 60903 standards requirements, linemen's gloves were, until recently, worn "for standard use" with leather over-gloves to protect them from any risk of abrasion, perforation, etc. Today, the FLEX & GRIP glove...

Smart metering solution.(NEW PRODUCTS)
August 1, 2008... Alcatel-Lucent has a new smart metering solution targeted at the utility market. As a part of the solution, Alcatel-Lucent is delivering a real-time data processing system based on its Open Service Platform (OSP), offering meter reading, meter...

Handhelo voltage probe.(NEW PRODUCTS)
August 1, 2008... HD'S VP-1 Voltage Probe is a handheld voltage detector that can be used from 50V up to 21kV AC. For secondary voltages from 50V to 600V use it as a direct contact voltage detector. It can also be used as a direct contact voltage detector on...

Prepaid metering platform.(NEW PRODUCTS)
August 1, 2008... SmartSynch Inc., a global leader in public wireless smart metering technology for the utility industry, and Exceleron Software Inc., a leader in prepaid services for utility companies, have created an integrated platform that enables utilities...

Industrial Ethernet switches.(NEW PRODUCTS)
August 1, 2008... WAGO Corporation's new 852 Series of Ethernet switches provide a wide range of scalable solutions for network infrastructures. The 852 Series ranges from simple Ethernet switches to configurable, multifunction Ethernet communication switches....

Advanced controllers.(NEW PRODUCTS)
August 1, 2008... Control Microsystems, global developer of advanced SCADA products, released two new additions to the SCADAPack series of advanced controllers: the SCADAPack 330 and SCADAPack 334. Based on the latest generation SCADAPack 300 series platform...

Infrared camera.(NEW PRODUCTS)
August 1, 2008... FLIR Systems, Inc., a leader in infrared cameras for over 40 years, has announced the launch of its new "middle market" T-Series infrared cameras. The new T-series delivers razor-sharp thermal images, thanks to 76,800 pixels and FLIR's...

Rate change monitor.(NEW PRODUCTS)
August 1, 2008... Do you have difficulty keeping up with current electricity rate changes and getting a handle on what you pay for electricity throughout the country? Keeping up with these changes across utility service territories, interstate and nationally, is...

Calendar.(Conference news)(Calendar)
August 1, 2008... DistribuTECH and TransTECH 2009: The Utility industry's most comprehensive conference on automation, information technology and T&D engineering Feb. 3-5, 2009, San Diego, CA. // Phone 918.832.9265// www.distributech.com AUGUST 24-29 ...

What's new at www.utilityautomation.com.
August 1, 2008... Featured Topic: [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Home-based CSRs reap savings and satisfaction for utility call centers "Cost of gas for drive to work: zero dollars. Cost of lunch at home: $2 dollars. Working for Duke Energy from home:...