Insights from our Editorial Team

  • Jan 22, 2013 | Kathleen Wolf Davis

     

    U.S. utilities are not as backwards as I am. Many have embraced social media to communicate with customers more regularly and interactively. And, they’ve managed to truly open dialogues, in many cases. Here are some of Intelligent Utility’s favorite tweets from U.S. power companies in 2012 (and the DOE), ranging from executive interactions to outage updates to the truly odd and awesome.

    Comments: 1
  • Jan 21, 2013 | Kathleen Wolf Davis

    “The start to any good analytics efforts is simple: data. Well, simple enough to say. The role of data in advanced customer analytics is becoming increasingly complex as utilities work to wrangle increasing volumes of data coming at them at increasingly faster speeds,” noted H. Christine Richards, the director of the Utility Analytics Institute.

  • Jan 20, 2013 | Kathleen Wolf Davis

     

    Primarily put into place to benefit wind energy, CREZ projects are projected to increase the current level of wind generation capacity in Texas to 18,456 MW, and it will also help provide transmission infrastructure necessary to meet the long-term needs of the growing area west of the I-35 corridor between San Antonio and Killeen, Texas. What was started to promote renewables will additionally promote transmission by design.

  • Jan 17, 2013 | Kathleen Wolf Davis

     

    One expert noted: "As we move forward with energy management, [we can’t] create a digital divide. We need something that applies across all formats, from my mother who won’t use it if there are more than two buttons to my children who won’t use it if there’s not an app for it."

  • Another EMF study, another myth put to rest
    Jan 16, 2013 | Phil Carson

    Texas is the latest in a line of states whose regulators have spent time and money on a review of the scientific findings around radio frequency emissions and human health. The Texas effort adds another worthwhile study for reference and proffering to concerned citizens. 

    Comments: 2
  • Minnesota utility director discusses what's available
    Jan 15, 2013 | Phil Carson

    Smartphone as life's remote control? Not so fast, readers say. Here's one municipal utility director's approach to finding devices that work for understanding home energy use and managing it. 

    Comments: 7
  • An engineer and a consumer electronics show
    Jan 14, 2013 | Phil Carson

    The mainstream media notices "smartphone as life's remote control" at the Consumer Electronics Show and presents home energy management concepts and technology without mentioning utilities. Need I say more? 

    Comments: 5
  • Readers positive, with conditions
    Jan 13, 2013 | Phil Carson

    Readers provide a swath of ideas on how public/private investments in infrastructure renewal should and shouldn't work and whether it enables U.S. competitiveness in a global competition marked by aggressive government roles by our rivals. 

  • Jan 10, 2013 | Kathleen W. Davis

     

    A panel of experts, including Chris Irwin with the U.S. Department of Energy, Gordon Matthews with the Bonneville Power Administration, Bob Saint with the National Rural Electric Cooperative (NRECA), Robert Burke with ISO New England and Robert Frazier with CenterPoint Energy discussed a vision for the American power grid of the future last month. The conclusion: We need more technology with more data and ways to make that data speak.

     

     

    Comments: 2
  • We can't escape the connections, but we can act
    Jan 09, 2013 | Phil Carson

    The power sector needs leaders to articulate the critical nature of infrastructure investment, stripped of the "smart grid" hype. Turn off the TV if you want to understand that our economic future and lifestyle is at risk if we don't ante up.

    Comments: 5