Commentary
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Jan 27, 2010 |
These are exciting times. The electric industry is undergoing tremendous change. Smart Grid initiatives are being developed and many are proceeding across the country, with engineers, technologist, accountants and others designing and implementing systems, technologies and rate structures that have the potential to help many. -
Jan 12, 2010 |
The waterway system between Lake Superior and the Gulf of St Lawrence provides power generation and the capacity to store massive amounts of energy through pumped hydraulic storage. The well being of a population of several million people who live on both sides of the US-Canada border depend that hydroelectric power generation. At present, the pumped hydraulic storage installation at Ludington, Michigan is the largest of its kind along the waterway. -
Dec 24, 2009 |Assembling the right mix of resources to ensure high-quality, cost-effective customer care is a constantly evolving challenge. Selecting, training, managing, and motivating a large pool of employees requires creativity, enthusiasm, and perseverance.
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Dec 23, 2009 |
It's as old a debate as the chicken and the egg, and as complicated as the Gordian knot. Should utilities tackle transmission or customers first when making investments in a smarter grid? -
Dec 22, 2009 |The utility industry is getting older. By some estimates, nearly half of today's workforce will be eligible for retirement in the next decade. Years of hard-won knowledge seemed doomed to disappear just as utilities are implementing smart grid initiatives and benefiting from improved data collection and opportunities for advanced customer communications and energy efficiency. Is this the perfect storm?
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Dec 17, 2009 |When Tommy Carmichael -- the world's greatest slot machine cheat -- wanted to illegally coax coins out of Las Vegas slot machines, his first step was to get his hands on the machine he wanted to cheat.
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Dec 10, 2009 |
All buying and selling of an energy commodity (natural gas and electricity) by both end-user customers and their energy suppliers, involves a simultaneous look and interpretation of only two variables: energy usage and energy price. While conceptually simple, in reality marrying accurate energy usage and price information is extraordinarily difficult, first and foremost because the added dimension of time must be considered as both variables are in a constant state of change. -
Dec 08, 2009 |While there have been a large number of papers and other research on the effects of power quality for commercial and industrial operations, there has been very little published on the effects of power quality in residential applications. This is becoming more of a concern to the residential user with the increased usage of electronics, e.g., computers, washing machines, entertainment equipment, in the home.
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Dec 08, 2009 |
Industry professionals are overwhelmed with calls for smart grid implementations and many utilities are moving in that direction. They are doing so, however, with much uncertainty regarding cost recovery and even more uncertainty regarding any potential return on their investments. -
Dec 03, 2009 |
With the federal government issuing $787 billion in stimulus money and pushing hard for a remaking of the industry, to what extent is stimulus funding speeding up deployment of smart meters and other smart grid elements? Maybe there will be some acceleration, but it hasn't yet started and the stimulating effect is likely to be relatively minor when it does get under way.
