-
MED goes underground with new commercial development
IN A PERFECT WORLD, THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM HAS intelligent equipment that easily handles two-way power flow and receives distributed generation like renewables. Operators have advanced voltage control integrated with smart meters to manage energy, reduce losses and lower customer bills. Distribution quickly heals itself from assaults by nature and equipment failures while limiting outages to as...
-
FERC approves violation severity levels for CIP reliability standards
ON MARCH 18, 2010, THE FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY Commission (FERC) approved, with modifications, certain Violation Severity Level (VSL) assignments for Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Reliability Standards as proposed by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). Implications for registered entitiesThe VSL assignments approved in the order were effective immediately, and...
-
Top 25 Intelligent Utilities
A lot has happened in the industry since we published our 2009 UtiliQ rankings a year ago. Jill Feblowitz takes a second look at utilities' intelligent initiatives. In the next article, Phil Johnson discusses Bonneville Power Administration's outside-the-box thinking with regard to transmission planning.WELCOME TO THE SECOND ANNUAL UTILIQ RANKING OF U.S. electric utilities-a list of the top 25...
-
Duke Energy's Jim Rogers cuts to the chase regarding customer needs
DUKE ENERGY CEO JIM ROGERS DOESN'T MINCE WORDS.It was early May, under stormy skies, when Rogers gave the opening keynote, ''Smart Grid: The Catalyst to Transform the Energy Sector,'' at the Smart Grid Roadshow in Cincinnati. Later that morning, he followed up with a sit-down chat with a half-dozen of us about his vision for the utility industry. One of his key messages: keep educating the...
-
SCE collaborates with industry partners to communicate the value
IT IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY CLEAR THAT CONSUMER empowerment will be one of the most powerful forces shaping industry change in the coming decade, and this trend will continue to become even more significant into the future. This new engagement that needs to occur with consumers, or end-customers, represents a tremendous shift for utilities, both in operations and in thinking. Back in late May, I...
-
Learning the difference between customers and consumers
DALLAS-BASED ONCOR LEARNED A VALUABLE LESSON earlier this year: it has ''customers'' not ''consumers.''A snowstorm hammered the Dallas-Fort Worth area in February, dropping 17 inches, the second-largest snowfall ever recorded in the region. It was also the fifth-coldest winter on record. As the company responsible for ensuring power gets to its 3 million residential and business customers, Oncor...
-
Regulatory teamwork--A closer look at the Smart Grid Collaborative
AS THE ELECTRIC GRID CONTINUES TO evolve, the roles of state and federal government in driving smart initiatives is definitely shifting. One state regulator leading the collaborative approach is Garry Brown, chairman of the New York State Public Service Commission and of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners' (NARUC's) Committee on Electricity. Brown has also been a member...
-
The federal regulator is emerging as a vital facilitator
KEEPING THOSE AIR CONDITIONERS flowing is a summer necessity. But getting the most out of them has become a national priority. The long-term goal is to equip utilities and consumers with the technologies they need to make better energy decisions. Although private entities are the most integral part of the mix, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is also emerging as a vital facilitator...
-
R&D pathway to smart grid begs for collaboration
JUGGLING FOUR BOWLING PINS IS DIFFICULT enough, even for the polished entertainer. But add four more pins to the mix, then light one or two on fire, and you might grasp a clearer understanding of the daunting demands facing California's investor-owned utilities as they navigate toward the smart grid of the next decade. ''If you look at all of the policies and directives, 2020 is a...
-
Duke Energy's virtual power plant shares its efforts
YOU CAN'T MISS IT - 213 SOLAR PANELS AND a battery the size of a tractor trailer sit alongside one of Duke Energy's electric substations on Charlotte, North Carolina's Highway 51. And that is intentional, said Paige Layne, Duke Energy's corporate communications manager. ''We found because the solar panels are out there on one of the busiest highways in Charlotte, people call in and ask us about...
