Utility Automation & Engineering T&D articles from November 2008

Utility Automation & Engineering T&D archives from November 2008

Navigating uncharted waters.(FROM THE EDITOR)
November 1, 2008... The global financial crisis is dominating the news. While I would like to completely ignore it, I just haven't been able to do so. I find myself checking throughout the day to see if the Dow Jones is up 400 points or down 700. I also can't help...

GRIDWEEK descends on D.C.(NEWS)
November 1, 2008... Regulators, vendors, utility representatives and the generally smart grid curious took over the lower portion of the Ronald Reagan building in Washington, D.C. Sept. 22-25 to discuss the ins and outs of making our T&D system more communicative...

Wisconsin Transmission line receives Award.(NEWS)
November 1, 2008... The 345 kV Arrowhead-Weston transmission line project, designed by POWER Engineers, has been chosen to receive the 2008 Wisconsin Engineering Achievement Award, presented by the American Society of Civil Engineers. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]...

Eye on Europe.(NEWS)
November 1, 2008... Iberdrola examines tech: Iberdrola has been working extensively to define and test a new open, public and nonproprietary PLC (power line communications) telecom architecture to support both smart metering functionality and smart grids...

A chat with NREL director Dan Arvizu.(NEWS)(Interview)
November 1, 2008... Editor's note: This is part three of a jour-part UAE news series. Senior editor Kathleen Davis talks with NREL director Dr. Dan Arvizu about connecting renewables to the grid. In this third part of the series, Dr. Arvizu addresses the numbers...

Student-engineered tool protects workers.(NEWS)
November 1, 2008... Engineering students at Johns Hopkins have invented a tool that would allow utility workers to disconnect power lines from residential transformers at a safe distance, beyond the range of dangerous electrical arcs. Their prototype, built...

Oklahoma grants utility status to transmission company.(NEWS)
November 1, 2008... Oklahoma regulators recently granted transmission utility status to 1TC Great Plains, an independent electric transmission company, in an effort to improve transmission infrastructure and bring wind power and other renewable energy to the...

Seven steps to protect your control system.(CYBER SECURITY)
November 1, 2008... Ensuring the resilience of safety and mission-critical industrial control systems from security threats is vital to ensuring a utility's future. Mission-and safety-critical systems are at risk from cyber threats, such as hackers, viruses and...

Vendor to vendor: we must provide solutions to support compliance.
November 1, 2008... Beyond the obvious needs of bandwidth, standards compliance, flexibility and reliability, two new challenges in the design of networks for the power industry exist: integrating support for international security requirements and enabling "smart...

Growing role for demand response in ISO operations.(DR AND YOUR ISO)
November 1, 2008... In recent years, demand response (DR) has been going through an evolution that far outpaces the original demand side management (DSM) activities of the 1980s and 1990s. This is due in part to the rapid advances in metering, communication and a...

Utililty CIO: this is your life.(SPOTLIGHT ON)(Interview)(Company overview)
November 1, 2008... Just the title itself sounds stuffy: chief information officer. It conjures up mental images of men in blue suits sitting about smoking cigars and talking Standards in clipped, articulate abbreviations. And, perhaps, that still happens...

Making the most of meter data.(METER DATA MANAGEMENT)
November 1, 2008... Advanced metering lets utilities connect with customers in ways that were impossible a few years ago. Typically utilities have used information collected at the meter through automated meter reading (AMR) and, more recently advanced metering...

Danger keep off: safety: just common sense?(WORKER SAFETY)
November 1, 2008... If safety were simple, there would be no need for all the books, company handbooks, meetings and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards devoted to the subject. And there would be no need for articles such as this one....

Heartbeat rescue: Orlando Utilities Commission saves foreman.(WORKER SAFETY)
November 1, 2008... For decades, Tim Westerman said he would trust Orlando Utilities Commission's (OUC) Emergency Response Team (ERT) with his life. The morning of Aug. 6, 2007, he did just that. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Over the weekend, the maintenance...

Infrared Imaging as a secondary inspection for remotely monitored electrical vaults.(INFRARED INSPECTION)
November 1, 2008... Imagine your typical substation: filled with transformers, above ground, easy to monitor and inspect as needed. Now imagine an underground vault: filled with water, bad air, rats, poisonous snakes and transformers, confined dark spaces under...

CPS Energy creates an energized mobility strategy.(CASE STUDY)
November 1, 2008... Many organizations in the public sector have turned to mobile computing to improve the efficiency of their workforce. The next logical step is wireless applications to ensure that mission critical data is available wherever, whenever. The quick...

Alarm annunciator.(NEW PRODUCTS)
November 1, 2008... The 725B combined annunciator and event recorder brings together many years of development in alarm technology. The 725B annunciator uses CANBUS communication technology coupled with RTK Instruments, multi-redundant (no single point of system...

Modular power converter.(NEW PRODUCTS)
November 1, 2008... AMSC launched its PowerModule PM3000W, a fully programmable, flexible and modular power converter developed specifically for wind power applications. The PM3000W is the world's first power converter building block developed specifically to...

Fleet management software.(NEW PRODUCTS)
November 1, 2008... Navman Wireless North America, a wholly owned subsidiary of Navman Wireless Holdings, announced the next generation of its vehicle tracking and logistics software, OnlineAVL2. A successor to the company's Online AVL1 that provides fleet...

Spacer Cable Systems.(NEW PRODUCTS)
November 1, 2008... Hendrix Wire & Cable, a provider of overhead and underground power-distribution products, has a green solution for overhead distribution circuits. Spacer cable systems can reduce the amount of vegetation removed when clearing right-of-way for...

GIS software suite.(NEW PRODUCTS)
November 1, 2008... DeLorme, the innovation leader in mapping, GIS and GPS technology, introduced its XMap 6 GIS software suite with improved functionality for organizations using GIS to support a mobile work force. XMap 6 software is a three-tiered offering...

Rugged mobile computer.(NEW PRODUCTS)
November 1, 2008... Xplore Technologies Corp., maker of rugged mobile computers, announced its new iX104C4 Tablet PC. The design implements best-in-class sunlight-readable display technology, Dual Mode flexible user interface, redesigned antennae, new integrated...

Arc Hazard Assessment Software.(NEW PRODUCTS)
November 1, 2008... HD's ArcPro Arc Hazard Assessment Software is designed to aid in the selection of protective clothing by defining the arc hazard for workers who may be accidently exposed to electrical arcs. It provides the user with calculations including heat...

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 // Phone 918.832,9265 // www.distributech.com.(Conference news)(Calendar)
November 1, 2008... December 2-3 Decision Making Skills for System Operators, OES-NA, www.oesna.com, Orlando. December 3 Phase 11 of Renewable Energy in America, ACORE, www.acore.org/events, Washington, D.C. December 2-4 POWER-GEN...

Featured topic.(www.UtilityAutomation.com)
November 1, 2008... Take a second listen to the we 11-attended summer webcast, "California Dreaming." Recorded in late August, two California IOUs discussed where they were with their massive AMI projects, the benefits they achieved, and the lessons they learned...

Currents: the energy news podcast.(www.UtilityAutomation.com)
November 1, 2008... Episode 12--The Aging Workforce The aging workforce is one of the biggest threats to reliability and, some say, the very future of the industry. Almost half of the engineers and operations personnel will be retiring in the next five to 10...

Top 4 articles on utilifyautomation.com.(WHAT'S NEW AT)
November 1, 2008... 1. Exclusive feature: The T&D Market Index compiled by Denali Intelligence The T&D Market Index is based on detailed analysis of 11 critical spending categories that represent core purchases for most T&D organizations,. 2. New report...

Featured video.(WHAT'S NEW AT)
November 1, 2008... Introducing our first UA and EL&P newscast Teresa Hansen, editor in chief of Utility Automation & Engineering T&D and Electric Light & Power magazines, anchors the magazines' new weekly newscast. Quickly catch up on who is doing what in...

Quick vote.(WHAT'S NEW AT)
November 1, 2008... International investors see the U.S. utility sector as an attractive opportunity for expansion, but from Puget Energy to Energy East, there's opposition to these "takeovers." Should we be concerned? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] No, money's...