In This Issue
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Top 11 knowledge centers for gaining smartsIf we 're going to make grids and utilities smarter , we have to get the knowledge from somewhere on how to do that. Therefore, it is important to take a closer look at the places out there to soak up that knowledge. So to help you quench your thirst, last year we developed a list of the top 10 knowledge centers in the smart grid and the intelligent utility. To improve the list (and in the spirit...
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Tracking Toronto Hydro's journey
Sometimes the impetus for smart grid movement comes from unlikely sources. In Ontario, the biggest thrust came from the provincial government.For Toronto Hydro, the provincial government's focus on green energy, conservation and demand management, and green jobs came as welcome support to its own smart grid plans. In late January, I headed north to visit Toronto Hydro Corporation and to find out... -
MCEC information technology VP has new goalsKEITH STURKIE WAS NO STRANGER TO electric cooperatives when he joined Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative (MCEC) in 2002. For about 20 years prior, he had dealt with coops from his position as principal at Southern Business Services, a designer and marketer of CIS and financial software systems.Yet, when he received an offer to join Mid-Carolina on a full-time basis, Sturkie was conflicted. His...
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HECO AMI director taking careful, measured approachWHILE PAUL FETHERLAND HAS ONLY worked as AMI director at Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) since 2007, he is no stranger to the industry, or to HECO.Fetherland joined HECO in 1992, and directed its customer technology applications division for 13 years before stepping outside the company for a year in the software development world, and then returning to HECO to head up its AMI work.''During the...
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Seattle City Light strategic planning director welcomes challengeWHEN COREY KNUTSEN JOINED SEATTLE City Light (SCL) in March 2008, he was tasked to develop a plan for taking an aged infrastructure, mostly mid-'70s electromechanical, and bring it into the 21st century with features representing the best in today's smart grid technology. He welcomed the challenge, something for which he feels his 35-year career in electrical engineering, resource evaluation,...
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Iowans take a load offBOB HAUG WON'T LIKELY BE SUITING UP for a role in ''The Nutcracker'' anytime soon. But in his quest to showcase strength and synchronicity among a string of small Iowa utilities, the journeyman leader is cognizant that he needs to be as nimble-minded and -footed as master choreographer George Balanchine.An artistic overlap of home energy management and the ballet? Who knew? Welcome to the...
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A rising consumer waveTHE CONSUMER HAS HAD THE SOFTEST voice so far in the pursuit of the smart grid, but the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA) is working to change that-and rightly so. After all, we will be the ones who pay for it, either through taxes to support the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) funding, or through our rates. There is a lot of money at stake and NASUCA...
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Environmental groups support smart grid effortsUTILITIES AND ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS are coming together to help modernize the transmission system. It's an arduous job that requires conciliation and patience.Together, they seek to improve the grid's capabilities so as to allow it to carry more green electrons as well as provide customers with the information they need to make better energy choices. With Congress now considering national...
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Avista proves ROI of responsivenessCOMPANIES TAKE THE FIELD-of- dreams approach to Web-site design: ''If you build it, they will come.''At Avista Utilities, we redesigned our site based on what people want to do once they get there. Such responsiveness proved to be a profitable approach. New online functionality saves our company nearly $400,000 annually.At the same time, customer satisfaction has risen, and our site was ranked...
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Austin Energy provides ways to monitor usageUPDATING AN ENTERPRISE-SCALE CUSTOMER INFORMATION system (CIS) to improve customer communications and empower customers to make well-informed choices is no small undertaking if you're one of the nation's largest community-owned electric utilities.However, Austin Energy has been collaborating with several other Austin city departments to do just that. The end result will be an enhanced account and...
