T&D Asset Management

Are you an Edison fan or a Tesla fan? To many science geeks, this fight is akin to being an Elvis fan or a Beatles fan. You’re not allowed to be both. It’s against the code. So, how much of an inventor’s skill defines him, and how much is it all about getting the right eyes on your invention and research? Would Tesla have been as big as Edison with the right promotional skils? And how does that lesson apply to today's utility inventor?

In the end, despite best efforts, a utility can’t prevent weather emergencies: Power will go out because lines will come down. That’s a fact. But, that doesn’t mean a utility can’t prepare. Here are three areas that can be shored up to help.

“Stray voltage is a much more common occurrence than the general public realizes,” said Donald R. Johnson, an electrical engineer who specializes in stray voltage evaluations and serves at an expert witness in stray voltage lawsuits. We talk with him about definitions and preparations.

We often talk about how well (or how poorly) utilities are doing in certain areas: customer engagement, outage management and disaster recovery, even capital investment. But, we rarely turn that critical eye to the other major group in our industry—namely, vendors. Here's an insider look at the A+ smart grid vendors and a sneak peek at those set to storm the market that you may not know much about.

In February, President Obama signed an executive order with the intentions of beefing up the cybersecurity protection for bits of critical infrastructure, including the electric power structure strewn across the country. In this companion article to Prudence Park's UTC piece from yesterday (which can be read here), we give a little advice on preparation and patience. (Thought leadership sponsored by Intel.)

Widespread adoption of rooftop solar and other forms of distributed generation and responsive demand is transforming the mix of resources used to meet customers’ energy needs and manage the grid, speakers at Caltech’s Resnick Institute’s Grid2020 discussion series revealed. 

This week will see thought leaders from across the utility analytics landscape traveling to Napa, CA to attend the 2013 Utility Analytics Summit, presented by the Utility Analytics Institute. With support from host utilities PG&E and SMUD, the Summit promises to be a great opportunity for utility analytics professionals.

With 4.4 million customers, Atlanta-based Southern Company provides electricity to much of the American Southeast. Today, we spoke with Southern Company Senior Vice President and CIO Kenneth Coleman about the utility’s IT programs, plans and projections. This is part two of a series. Read part one here.