Utility Automation & Engineering T&D articles from May 2007

Utility Automation & Engineering T&D archives from May 2007

Smart grid becoming a reality.(FROM THE EDITOR)
May 1, 2007... In this month's Smart Grid Perspectives column (page 56), our contributing authors from IBM point out that while the investment necessary to turn our 20th century analog grid into a 21st century "smart" grid may appear daunting, the benefits to...

EPRI accord will expand use of line inspection software.(NEWS)
May 1, 2007... The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) announced an agreement with an engineering systems integrator to license EPRI's Transmission Inspection and Maintenance System (TIMs), a software package used by utilities to improve power line...

FPL selects Silver Spring networks to implement AMI.(NEWS)(Florida Power and Light Co.)(advanced metering infrastructure)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) and Silver Spring Networks have signed an agreement to deploy an advanced, two-way IP-based networking communication infrastructure in support of FPL's implementation of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI)...

Siemens to take part in EU study.(Eye on Europe)(Siemens Power Transmission and Distribution Div.)(European Union. European Commission)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Siemens to take part in EU study: As a leading manufacturer of gas-insulated lines (GIL), Siemens Power Transmission and Distribution (PTD) is taking part in a study initiated by the EU Commission. The object of this study is to investigate the...

AREVA to build UK's second offshore high-voltage substation.(Eye on Europe)
May 1, 2007... AREVA to build UK's second offshore high-voltage substation: AREVA's Transmission and Distribution (T & D) Division has won a contract for 21 million euros to design, supply, install and commission the onshore and offshore substations for the...

North Carolina plans for regional transmission.(NEWS)(North Carolina Transmission Planning Collaborative )(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Participants in the North Carolina Transmission Planning Collaborative (NCTPC) have achieved a major milestone with the publication of their first single Collaborative Transmission Plan for North Carolina. Participants include Duke Energy...

Siemens to construct new long-distance HVDC transmission link in India.(NEWS)
May 1, 2007... * Siemens Power Transmission and Distribution (PTD) and consortium partner Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) have been awarded an order by the Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd, New Delhi, to construct a 780 kilometer (485 mile)...

Grand Bahama Power invests in lightning prevention.(Grand Bahama Power Company Limited)(Lightning Eliminators and Consultants Inc.)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Grand Bahama Power Company Limited (Freeport, Grand Bahama, The Bahamas) has contracted with Lightning Eliminators & Consultants, Inc. (Boulder, CO, USA) to provide lightning protection for its substations serving the island chain's 55,000...

Direct Energy hits the lone star state.(moved to Stamford, Connecticut)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... One of the largest retail energy marketers in North America, Direct Energy, has relocated to Houston, Texas from Stamford, Connecticut. The announcement comes on the heels of the recent appointment of Phil Tonge to president of U.S. Operations,...

Toronto Hydro-Electric puts new OMS to test.(NEWS)
May 1, 2007... Toronto Hydro-Electric System installed their outage management system just in time. The utility, which delivers electricity to 678,000 customers and distributes approximately 18 percent of the electricity in Ontario, used its recently acquired...

Salt River Project reaches benchmark.(NEWS)(Elster Electricity LLC)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Elster Electricity, LLC announces that the Salt River Project (SRP) Agricultural and Improvement Power District in Phoenix, Arizona is continuing to install approximately 10,000 REX meters per month as part of its EnergyAxis System expansion...

Overheard.(Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's rules on wind energy)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... "While the wind industry generally applauds today's action, additional transmission-related barriers remain that are limiting the development of clean, renewable energy. At a time when the public is clamoring for policies aimed at reducing our...

NERC applauds FERC approval of reliability standards.(of power systems)(North American Electric Reliability Corporation)(Federal Energy Regulatory Commission)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... "NERC has worked for nearly a decade to achieve mandatory and enforceable reliability standards, and it is extremely gratifying to reach this major goal in the U.S.," said NERC chairman Richard Drouin. "We look forward to working...

GE announces NYC auction winners.(NEWS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... * Four power marketing and trading companies have won an auction of the electric capacity for a project to be constructed adjacent to GE's 900-megawatt Linden, NJ, cogeneration power plant. * Winning bidders for transmission rights were...

Who revived the electric car?(NEWS)
May 1, 2007... During the Silicon Valley Leadership Group Alternative Energy Solutions Summit in early April, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG & E) demonstrated Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology. The demonstration marked a milestone in both the automotive and...

Sapias wins industry award.(NEWS)
May 1, 2007... Sapias Inc., a provider of on-demand mobile resource management, and its customer NSTAR, a Massachusetts-based electric and gas utility, have received the 2007 WizKids award from Beagle Research Group, an analyst firm covering emerging front...

Overheard.(NEWS)(acquisitions)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... "Acciona's and Enel's involvement in Endesa has made our original goal of acquiring a majority stake in Endesa impossible. Obtaining a minority interest in Endesa would have led to a stalemate between the shareholders and triggered...

Meter data management: step one to harnessing the power of AMI.
May 1, 2007... Some of the bigger advanced metering projects moving forward today reflect a growing trend. Increasingly, utilities are issuing requests for proposals on two important systems simultaneously: advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and meter...

Can Russia break into the EU power market?
May 1, 2007... One Tuesday, I called Belgium to speak to an Italian man about Russia. It's like the opening line to a good joke, but these days power markets in Europe are serious business. And, whether Russia can become a player in those markets remains...

SDG & E's new asset management program puts "real-time" into condition-based maintenance.(Cover story)
May 1, 2007... San Diego Gas & Electric recently piloted a "real-time condition-based maintenance" solution to bolster its asset management program. So, why is real-time data important for a condition-based maintenance (CBM) approach to asset management?...

Invasion of the Brazilian pepper.
May 1, 2007... The mention of John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) or Cape Canaveral Air Force Base--jointly known as the Cape Canaveral Spaceport--is likely to conjure similar images in the minds of most: spacecraft, launch pads, F-16s and other high-tech...

FACTS on the ground at Pepco.(Static Var Compensator)(Flexible Alternating Current Transmission Systems used at the Pepco Holdings Inc.)
May 1, 2007... FACTS devices had a big year in 2006, with numerous projects being initiated across the country. The uptick in FACTS use is not surprising, given the growing need for voltage support and increased transmission capacity in many areas and FACTS'...

Superconductor power cables for sale.(electric utilities)
May 1, 2007... The past few summers have seen much ink spilled over the shortcomings of the U.S. power grid. Each heat wave brings a greater threat of brownouts, blackouts and--from a utility standpoint--the very real potential for a costly public relations...

SCADA software.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2007... Control Microsystems has launched ClearSCADA 2007 Edition. The full-featured, SCADA automation management software now has even more purpose-built features, according to the company. The ClearSCADA product line was purposely engineered for...

Condition Analyzer.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2007... The PCA2 On-Load Protection Condition Analyzer, from specialist technology company, Relay Engineering Services (RES) Ltd, provides fast, non-intrusive, comprehensive evaluation and recording of substation protection systems, even while they are...

Capacitor banks.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2007... Custom-engineered metal-enclosed capacitor banks from Maysteel deliver reliable, cost-effective power factor improvement for wind farms, refineries, substations, and other industrial or utility applications. Part of the SmartBank series of...

Fleet tracking.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2007... The Maya is a versatile and reliable in-vehicle GPS-equipped, GSM-capable data hub. Engineered specifically for the fleet-tracking industry, Maya generates an array of customized and highly relevant data transmissions. Leveraging the...

Thermal camera.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2007... The TP8 thermal imager from Land Instruments International has Bluetooth voice recording technology and a detector resolution 45 percent higher than the standard 320 x 240 pixels. Within the measurement range -20 to 800 [degrees]C or -4 to 1470...

Data collection.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2007... Itron Inc. announced the commercial availability of Mobile Collector Lite (MCLite) running MV-RS v7.8 software. Itron MCLite is an easy-to-use, portable drive-by AMR tool that utilizes the Itron FC200 handheld computer with an external radio to...

Leak Detector.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2007... LumaSense SF6 Leak Detector is able to measure the total concentration of the sulfur hexafluoride gas in a monitored enclosure where the switchgear (or other SF6 filled equipment) is tested. It is critical to detect leaks and improve...

AMR system.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2007... The Hexagram STAR Fixed Network AMR System provides fully automatic meter reading. The use of licensed radio channels ensures reliable performance throughout the life of the system. The system provides two or more daily readings from every...

UtiliNet[R] Series III radio from Cellnet.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2007... The Cellnet[R] UtiliNet[R] Series III mesh radio boasts an increased baud rate, to 9,600/19,200 bps, which, coupled with several firmware changes, has quadrupled the effective data throughput of the radio over the Series II. [ILLUSTRATION...

Calendar.(Calendar)
May 1, 2007... DistribuTECH 2008: The utility industry's most comprehensive conference on automation, information technology and T & D engineering Jan. 22-24, 2008. Tampa, FL. // Phone 918.832.9265 // www.distributech.com MAY 21-24 CIS Week, CIS...

Is an intelligent utility really worth it?(SMART GRID PERSPECTIVES)
May 1, 2007... The concept of an intelligent utility network continues to gain momentum with key industry stakeholders. Customers, utilities, retailers and policy makers realize the importance of the intelligent grid in securing our energy future. The ability...