Utility Automation & Engineering T&D articles from July 2004

Utility Automation & Engineering T&D archives from July 2004

One year after the power industry's wake-up call.(Editorial)
July 1, 2004... In the grand and arbitrary journalistic tradition of reflecting on events exactly one year after they occurred, I'll take this opportunity to reflect on the Aug. 14, 2003, blackout, which, if you happen to be reading this on Aug. 14, 2004,...

New utility metering needs create opportunities for start-ups.(News)
July 1, 2004... Driven by changing end-user needs, many new participants in the utility meter market are focusing on product innovation to capture market share. These emerging competitors have already upset the pricing equilibrium that the established metering...

Consumers would turn to utility for internet access, report says.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Internet-intensive consumers are intrigued with the prospect of high-speed broadband connections over power lines, a new national survey has confirmed. In fact, more than a third would drop their telephone or cable company right now and...

IT survey: utility execs say data is overwhelming, unmanageable.(News)
July 1, 2004... In a recent survey, the majority of energy and utility executives (67 percent) polled believe the amount of data in their organizations' IT systems is overwhelming. Nine out of 10 of those executives believe that more than half of all available...

METC improves service to Grand Rapids region.(News)(Michigan Electric Transmission Co. )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Michigan Electric Transmission Co. (METC) recently installed a new power transformer near Grand Rapids to ensure that the transmission system continues to meet the area's increasing electric demands. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Over the...

$8 billion in transmission investment could lower wholesale prices by $12 billion, group says.(News)
July 1, 2004... ICF Consulting Inc. recently completed a major study of transmission adequacy in the United States which forecasts the optimal amount of new electric transmission capacity builds and the investments needed to ensure continued grid reliability....

Con Edison investing $700 million in power delivery.(News)(Consolidated Edison Company of New York Inc.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Consolidated Edison Company of New York Inc. (Con Edison) is investing more than $700 million this year to upgrade and reinforce its electric delivery system for the 9 million people it serves in New York City and Westchester County. The...

Lincoln Electric gets new SCADA P.D.Q.(News)(Open Systems International Inc. )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Open Systems International Inc. (OSI) recently completed a successful SCADA/energy management system project for Lincoln Electric Systems (LES) in Lincoln, Neb., in near-record time. The system was commissioned four and one half months from...

Manhattan VA Center is energy management pacesetter.(News)(Veterans Affairs)
July 1, 2004... The Manhattan Veterans Affairs Medical Center in New York City has emerged as a national pacesetter in energy management by becoming one of the largest participants in New York state's peak load reduction program, which is managed by the New...

Entergy energizes unique under-river transmission line.(News)(Entergy Louisiana Inc.)
July 1, 2004... A high-voltage line buried 100 feet beneath the Mississippi River at New Orleans has been energized by Entergy Louisiana Inc., a subsidiary of Entergy Corp. The project incorporated a number of first-ever technologies and engineering...

Invensys launches demand-side energy management offering.(News)(Invensys Climate Controls)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Invensys Climate Controls recently announced the commercial launch of its GoodWatts interactive demand-side management (DSM) service offering for the electric supply marketplace. Denise Rushing, whose utility industry background includes 14...

SPL completes outage management acquisition.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... In mid-July, SPL announced that it had finalized its acquisition of the major assets of CES International, a pioneer and market leader in utility outage management. The acquisition plans had been announced in May. "For the first time,"...

Kansas City Board of Public Utilities.(Contract Awards and Extensions)(Dynamic Ratings)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The Kansas City Board of Public Utilities has chosen Dynamic Ratings' DRMCC transformer controller integrated with Luxtron's m600 Fluoroptic thermometry module for transformer load monitoring and control.

Bangor Hydro-Electric Co.(Contract Awards and Extensions)(VSI Meter Services )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Bangor Hydro-Electric Co. has a contract with VSI Meter Services to deploy approximately 110,000 meters equipped with DCSI's TWACS technology. Communication with the meters will take place over existing power lines.

Holland Michigan Board of Public Works.(Contract Awards and Extensions)(Terasen Utility Services)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Holland Michigan Board of Public Works, a municipally owned Michigan utility, has signed a contract with Terasen Utility Services for field installation of approximately 35,000 new and retrofitted electric and water meters featuring the...

JEA.(Contract Awards and Extensions)(Elster Electricity)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... JEA in Jacksonville, Fla., has awarded a contract to Elster Electricity to provide more than 20,000 ALPHA Plus electronic meters with the Cellnet multi-function meter module (MFMM). The meters will be installed at commercial and industrial...

Xcel Energy.(Contract Awards and Extensions)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Xcel Energy has a contract with Itron Inc. for the purchase of 6,000 advanced solid-state meters equipped with SmartSynch's SmartMeter technology. The automated Elster A3 meters will be installed at hard-to-access and security-sensitive...

Itron.(Contract Awards and Extensions)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Itron also announced a contract to provide underground and overhead distribution infrastructure design tools to Northeast Utilities Service Co. to help streamline the siting, design and construction of electric and natural gas distribution...

The City of Naperville.(Contract Awards and Extensions)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The City of Naperville, which serves 55,000 electric customers in Illinois, has chosen to add Miner & Miner's Designer product to its current ArcFM solution to streamline design engineering.

GE Energy.(Contract Awards and Extensions)(GE Energy Services, Gainesville Regional Utilities)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... GE Energy has recently been awarded contracts from five utilities for XA/21 energy management system upgrades. South Mississippi Electric Power Assoc., Michigan's Wolverine Power Cooperative, North Dakota's Minnkota Power Cooperative, and...

Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative.(Contract Awards and Extensions)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative has selected CGI Group Inc. to deliver an integrated outage management system, geographic information system and electronic staking application. The integrated turnkey solution includes CGI's PragmaLINE...

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co.(Contract Awards and Extensions)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. has retained the services of KEMA to support development of the utility's reliability redesign initiative. KEMA will help identify and justify capital reliability improvement projects for 2004 and 2005.

Snapping Shoals Electric Membership Cooperative.(Contract Awards and Extensions)(Tantalus Systems Corp.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Georgia's Snapping Shoals Electric Membership Cooperative has purchased the Tantalus Utility Network from Tantalus Systems Corp. The network infrastructure will allow Snapping Shoals EMC to implement advanced metering, outage management,...

Itron Inc.(Alliances, Mergers and Acquisitions)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... In early June, Itron Inc.'s acquisition of Schlumberger's electricity metering products business (SEM) cleared regulatory review, paving the way for the close of the acquisition in late June. The acquisition included Schlumberger's electricity...

Symantec Corp.(Alliances, Mergers and Acquisitions)(Areva T & D)(SCADA systems)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Symantec Corp. and Areva T & D have partnered to provide a comprehensive security solution for electric power SCADA systems. Areva will resell Symantec for Electric Power to assist electric utilities in their efforts to secure interconnected...

Sensus Metering Systems.(Alliances, Mergers and Acquisitions)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... To add fixed-base solutions to its AMR product portfolio, Sensus Metering Systems has purchased certain assets of NexusData Inc. The acquisition will provide Sensus with ownership of a fixed-network AMR system for water, gas and electric...

Synergen Inc.(Alliances, Mergers and Acquisitions)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Synergen Inc., a provider of enterprise asset management and computerized maintenance management solutions, has signed an agreement to acquire the major asset's of Axiom Corp.'s utility business, including its mobile dispatch solution suite,...

TXU Corp.(Alliances, Mergers and Acquisitions)(UMS Group)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... TXU Corp. has agreed to sell its Oncor Utility Solutions consulting and asset management business to UMS Group, a utility consulting company headquartered in Parsippany, N.J.

Sensus Metering Systems Inc.(Alliances, Mergers and Acquisitions)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Sensus Metering Systems Inc. has purchased certain assets of NexusData Inc. in a move to expand its AMR product line to include fixed-base solutions.

Sensus.(Alliances, Mergers and Acquisitions)(Cellnet technology)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Sensus has also formed an alliance with Cellnet to develop and provide fixed-network AMR solutions to utilities. Under the agreement, Cellnet technology will be incorporated into Sensus water, electric and gas meter offerings.

UAI.(Alliances, Mergers and Acquisitions)(UtilityCenter 2.0 solution)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... UAI, a provider of geospatial technology solutions, has entered into a business partnership with CYME International, a provider of engineering analysis, to enhance the functionality of UAI's UtilityCenter 2.0 solution.

Wayne Brunetti.(Personnel Changes and Promotions)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Wayne Brunetti, chairman and CEO of Xcel Energy Inc. has been elected chairman of the Edison Electric Institute. Brunetti will be supported by EEI's incoming chairs, Michael G. Morris, chairman president and CEO of American Electric Power, and...

Doug Jaeger.(Personnel Changes and Promotions)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Doug Jaeger has been named vice president of transmission at Xcel Energy. Jaeger, who joined Xcel in 2000, will oversee Xcel's transmission systems, which serve 3.3 million customers in 11 Western and Midwestern states.

Carl English.(Personnel Changes and Promotions)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Carl English has been named president of AEP Utilities, a new position. English will be responsible for American Electric Power's T & D operations and will oversee regulatory and policy matters relating to utility operations. He will report to...

Mobile solutions continue to drive AMR growth.(AMR Growth)(automated meter reading)(Cover Story)
July 1, 2004... The good news for automated meter reading (AMR) vendors is that utilities have readily accepted that AMR technology works, and it is, indeed, something almost every utility is considering in at least some sense. Now, the questions are: How fast...

Electric AMR market enters its second curve--autovation.(AMR Market)(automatic meter reading )
July 1, 2004... Most people consider the concept of automatic meter reading (AMR) to be a phenomenon of the 1990s. This notion is largely accurate because that is when most installations occurred, but, in actuality, the very first AMR installations began in...

Automatic Meter Reading Association.(Special Advertising Section)(Advertisement)
July 1, 2004... With the acquisition of Schlumberger Electricity Inc, Itron, a Spokane, WA-based technology provider in the energy and water industries, has come full circle in offering utilities and other companies better methods for utilizing their energy...

TWACS[R] by DCSI--power line Two-Way Automatic Communication System: Automatic Meter Reading.(Automatic Meter Reading Association: Special Advertising Section)(Distribution Control Systems, Inc)(Advertisement)
July 1, 2004... TWACS[R] (Two Way Automatic Communication System) technology is the preeminent PLC (power line communication) system for utilities deploying automatic information technologies, with over 7.5 million two-way devices installed or under contract....

Badger introduces Galaxy[R] fixed-network AMR system.(Automatic Meter Reading Association: Special Advertising Section)(Advertisement)
July 1, 2004... Badger Meter is pleased to announce Galaxy--Badger's first radio-frequency (RF) fixed-network AMR product. Galaxy combines what we see as the best features of systems currently available with some fresh new thinking, and the result is some...

Join the growing list of utilities saving $ with X Pulse: the new solution for wholehouse disconnect.(Special Advertising Section: Automatic Meter Reading Association)(Brief Article)(Advertisement)
July 1, 2004... Revenue collection is a difficult fact of the electric utility industry and the cost of disconnecting a customer can easily add up, # of attempts x (hourly wages + vehicle use + security) Now add the costs of reconnecting that same...

The InfiNet[TM] system is the exciting new enhancement to the Cellnet suite of real-time energy management solutions.(Special Advertising Section: Automatic Meter Reading Association)(Advertisement)
July 1, 2004... The InfiNet[TM] system is the exciting new enhancement to the Cellnet suite of real-time energy management solutions. It is a cost-effective, flexible, scalable offering based on the Cellnet system that currently provides data on a daily basis...

Automatic Meter Reading--get under control.(Special Advertising Section: Automatic Meter Reading Association)(Advertisement)
July 1, 2004... Cutting costs and improving efficiency are nothing new for utilities. But today, utilities are experiencing new pressures thanks to competitive environments, increased need for operating efficiencies, and ever-changing technological...

Popularity grows for non-socket based meters.(Special Advertising Section: Automatic Meter Reading Association)(Advertisement)
July 1, 2004... Historically used for utility bill allocation in multi-tenant buildings, non-socket based meters are gaining popularity in many other applications. Solving Inefficiencies. An electric co-operative in South Texas saw a member's bill double...

Landis+Gyr's new ADI will take you wherever you want to go.(Special Advertising Section: Automatic Meter Reading Association)(Advanced Data Infrastructure)(Advertisement)
July 1, 2004... Like many new ideas, Landis+Gyr's recent introduction of the Advanced Data Infrastructure[TM] (ADI), an open-architecture, communication-neutral approach to AMR, has spurred a number of questions. "Sophisticated AMR systems make sense for...

Data Comm for Business, Inc (DCB) has just released the newest version of the SMD (SCADA Multidrop Multiplexer).(Special Advertising Section: Automatic Meter Reading Association)(Brief Article)(Advertisement)
July 1, 2004... Data Comm for Business, Inc (DCB) has just released the newest version of the SMD (SCADA Multidrop Multiplexer). The latest version of the SMD makes it much easier for a user to install the SMD without bringing down a MAS radio system while the...

iCon meter provides a gateway to the future.(Special Advertising Section: Automatic Meter Reading Association)(Advertisement)
July 1, 2004... With the conception of the iCon meter, Sensus Metering Systems completed its portfolio of metering products: gas, water and electric. The strategy of developing the electricity meter line was not to become solely an electricity meter vendor,...

Fixed-network automatic meter reading (AMR) system can transform any water utility into an efficiency expert.(Special Advertising Section: Automatic Meter Reading Association)(Advertisement)
July 1, 2004... Putting the right information, in the right hands, at the right time, can not only transform a utility into a productivity engine but can also make it a world-class customer service organization. If that sounds more like wishful thinking than...

Now more than ever, utilities want more data.(Special Advertising Section: Automatic Meter Reading Association)(Advertisement)
July 1, 2004... Now more than ever, utilities want more data. This is particularly true about when and how much energy is being used. Traditionally, the acquisition of that data has been accomplished with expensive commercial and industrial (C & I) meters or...

Demand response: smart thermostats getting results at SCE.(Southern California Edison Co.)
July 1, 2004... In California, the state's utility commission and large investor-owned utilities such as Southern California Edison (SCE) have a common interest: ensuring electric reliability. They work together in developing a secure infrastructure and...

Oklahoma gas & electric optimizes distribution assets.
July 1, 2004... In February 1996, Oklahoma City's monthly high temperature hit a record of 92 degrees, awakening residential and commercial air conditioning systems throughout the city to cool down the unusually hot temperatures. In the same month, the monthly...

Rio Grande Electric monitors remote energy assets via satellite.
July 1, 2004... Rio Grande Electric Cooperative (RGEC) in Brackettville, Texas, provides electric service to more than 10,000 meters across Texas and New Mexico. The company's commitment to providing a reliable source of power across 27,000 square miles of...

Vegetation management: pay me now, or pay me more later.
July 1, 2004... It has become a common practice in recent years for utilities to defer vegetation management plans, figuring that putting off tree pruning and herbicide applications for a few years is a small sacrifice to make to improve the bottom line. But,...

High-capacity transmission cable comes of age.(Getting Equipped)
July 1, 2004... Long-promised technology to improve the current-carrying capacity of transmission cable is now being demonstrated and is quickly becoming commercially available. As a bonus, much of the new technology fits in existing rights of way and, in the...

Polyphase meter.(New Products)(Sensus Metering Systems)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Sensus Metering Systems' TriCon Polyphase Meter continues the Sensus strategy of the meter also serving as a communications platform, by employing an open architecture for seamless integration with AMR technology. The TriCon meter complies with...

Data collection system.(New Products)(product information)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Itron's MV-90 xi is a software product that builds on Itron's position in commercial and industrial metering solutions by delivering updated system architecture and significantly enhanced features and functionality for users. The MV-90 xi is a...

Insulator Bracket.(New Products)(product information)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Joslyn Manufacturing Co.'s Nylon Thread Fiberglass Bracket features an environmentally friendly nylon thread in place of the traditional lead thread. The nylon thread from Joslyn not only saves utilities the costs associated with lead disposal,...

Protected network station.(New Products)(product information)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Microwave Data Systems' MDS P-21 is a protected network station providing redundant service for mission-critical applications where uninterrupted service is required and is equipped with MDS iNET 900 radios. The complete unit is designed to...

Insulation tester.(New Products)(product information)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... AEMC's Megohmmeter Model 5070 is a full-function, professional 5000V graphical insulation tester with automatic report generation. The Megohmmeter Model 5070 is the only fully automated 5000V graphical insulation tester. It provides insulation...

Substation relay.(New Products)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The SEL-451, from Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc., is a control system that maximizes substation performance at a lower cost. The SEL-451 simplifies substation automation, control and protection by combining the functionalities of...

Phase ID system.(New Products)(phase identification system)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The AP-10 from Avistar Inc. is a fast, simple phase identification system for field use. By quickly identifying the phase at a specific point of interest, the AP-10 offers tremendous speed and convenience compared with traditional...

Mobile CIS.(New Products)(Innoprise Software Inc.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Innoprise Software Inc.'s mCIS uses wireless peer-to-peer communications to enable real-time data exchange between the corporate CIS and the service personnel in the field, as well as the many connected devices on the network, ranging from cell...

Load research package.(New Products)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... MeterSmart has launched WinterPeak, the utility industry's first six-month load research package that provides real-time data to utilities during one of the harshest energy consumption periods of the year. With WinterPeak, utilities can more...

Substation monitoring.(New Products)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Mikron Infrared's DualVision 724 Remote Monitoring System for substations combines visual and infrared cameras to produce optimized, blended images for quick analysis. Used with Mikron's MikroSpec R/T software, the system produces a composite...

Map converter.(New Products)(Layton Graphics Inc.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Layton Graphics Inc. introduces MAP2PDF for Adobe Acrobat. This product enables the geo-registration of PDF maps, and converts them into highly intelligent GIS documents. Never before available with PDF, users can now embed and display latitude...

Multispeak-compliant SCADA suite.(New Products)(Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... QEI TDMS Plus is the first SCADA software suite to pass MultiSpeak 2.2 real-time compliance testing and the first vendor package ever to accomplish this through a Subscribe-Publish interface. MultiSpeak is a specification designed to facilitate...

Air-insulated switchgear.(New Products)(product information)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... FlexiGear, a family of pad-mount medium-voltage switchgear from Maysteel, offers utilities a convenient build-to-order alternative at an attractive price. All industry-standard configurations can be ordered, in 15kV and 25kV ratings, with an...

Fault analysis system.(New Products)(Grid Sentinel)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... WebRS (Web Relay Star), from Grid Sentinel, is a web-based engineering solution for improving protection reliability and analyzing power grid faults. Through an Internet-enabled computer, WebRS allows users to diagnose relay operations and...

Transformer Leak Repair Kit.(New Products)(product information)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Devcon's Transformer Leak Repair Kit is a complete "do-it-yourself" system for repairing transformer gas and oil leaks. Complete with special formulas of alumina-filled epoxy and urethane, as well as a nontrichloroethane-based degreaser, the...

Asset management software.(New Products)(product information)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... GBA Master Series Inc.'s 6.70 product suite offers infrastructure asset management for public works and water resources. Products within the software suite link to GIS and integrate with a variety of integrated asset management programs and...

Rugged PC.(New Products)(product information)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The G-Force 850 from JLT Mobile Computers Inc. is a powerful, convenient, lightweight and rugged PC for heavy industrial, military, field service and public safety users. The G-Force 850 is a mobile computer that features photograph quality,...

Spread-spectrum radio.(New Products)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Locus' OS2400-485 is a frequency-hopping, spread-spectrum radio that operates in the license-free 2.4 GHz band. Designed to succeed in high-interference environments, the OS2400-485 can be configured to operate in point-to-point, broadcast or...

Control system security.(New Products)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Industrial Defender Guard from Verano Inc. is a perimeter protection appliance designed to provide control systems and networks with complete protection against cyber attacks by integrating an array of security features, including virus...

DC converter.(New Products)(product information)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Wilmore's new Series 1720 dc-to-dc converters provide 200 watts of output power while occupying only 1.75 inches of vertical space in 19-inch or 23-inch equipment racks. Highly efficient, convection cooled and lightweight, these converters...

Calendar.(automobile industry)(Calendar)
July 1, 2004... DistribuTECH 2005: The utility industry's most comprehensive conference on automation, information technology and T & D engineering Jan. 25-27, 2005. San Diego, Calif. // Phone 918.831.9443 // Fax 918.831.9875 // Website www.distributech.com...

Question: what needs to happen for automatic meter reading technology to become more widely deployed by U.S. utility companies?(Parting Shots)
July 1, 2004... Question: What needs to happen for automatic meter reading technology to become more widely deployed by U.S. utility companies? Answer: "Actually, AMR is already widely deployed. As of Jan. 1, 2004, over 61 million AMR units were used...