In This Issue
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Transmission planning overhaulTRANSMISSION REGULATORS ARE THINKING BIG. A federal commission has delivered a 650-page blueprint for transmission planners that emphasizes regional coordination and gives public policy added weight in determinations for the expected build-out.We've been discussing it here [in RenewablesBiz] for some time because the implications are pretty serious for widespread renewable energy integration -...
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Using the data to provide new efficiencies
THANKS TO THE INFORMATION SMART METERS and other smart grid technology is bring in, utilities are beginning to face an explosion of new data. Now the question becomes: what can this data tell us, and how can we use it to better our services, understand our customer better, and make our utility operations more efficient. Aligning business intelligence, or BI, with an analytics strategy,... -
McKinsey report touts benefits
WE HAVE OFTEN WRITTEN ABOUT THE importance of data management and analytics, especially given the proliferation of data that often results from utility smart grid investments.A recent report from the McKinsey Global Institute shows that our industry is not alone. With computers and cell phones continuing to pervade our daily activities and as millions of networked sensors are being embedded in... -
JEA talks about challenges and successes
TO GAUGE HOW FAR A COMPANY HAS COME, IT IS IMPORTANT to look at its beginnings.For JEA (formerly the Jacksonville Electric Authority), those beginnings hail back to 1895, when the city of Jacksonville, Florida, established an electric system. On March 7 of that year, the switch was thrown at the original Main Street Power Plant, providing nighttime-only service for lighting.By 1932, the utility...2 -
Preparing employees for technology changes
THE GROWING CONVERGENCE OF TECHNOLOGY, communications, computing and energy systems in the intelligent electric utility is casting a new light on the optimimum skill sets needed for the new utility employee.Add to that the complicating factor of an aging and retiring workforce, with approximately 50 percent of the engineering workforce eligible for retirement in 2015, according to studies... -
Knowledge Summit co-chair Robert Sarfi examines the issues of an intelligent utility
AS AN ENGINEER AND A UTILITY MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT, Boreas Group co-founder Robert Sarfi is widely recognized for his experience in delivering business vision and technology solutions to electric utilities.This year, Energy Central asked Sarfi to lead the Operations committee for the Knowledge2011 Utility Executive Summit, bring his experience to bear on the issues affecting electric utility... -
But the technologies they’re adding are
JEA HAS BEEN PURSUING THE EVOLUTION OF ITS ELECTRIC grid and generation systems almost forever, it seems.The 116-year-old electric utility has always maintained a leading edge, not only in its technology deployment, but also in the way its employees think, and approach their jobs.That's one of the reasons why the term "smart grid" is so confining for JEA.Just a term"One of the problems with `... -
Q&A with American Municipal Power’s Branndon Kelley
BRANNDON KELLEY, CIO AT AMERICAN MUNICIPAL POWER, based in Columbus, Ohio, is well-known for articulating the issues faced by CIOs in an era of change. Kelley says that CIOs need to be "champions of change," one of the themes of the upcoming Knowledge2011 Utility Executive Summit, Nov. 7-9.In this Q&A, Kelley talks about generational issues in the workforce, the qualities he looks for in an... -
Using MDM to improve operational efficiencies
WITH ALL NEW TECHNOLOGIES, RETURN ON investment (ROI) is always a crucial component to determining a business case for deployment. When it comes to smart meters, AMI and meter data management technology, you need look no further than the Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District (SRP) for a compelling ROI story.The third largest public power utility in the U.S. has been on... -
SALT RIVER PROJECT (SRP) FOCUSES ON unique customer needs in a variety of ways. In 1993, it initiated M-Power, now the largest electricity prepayment program in the United States.In an EPRI technical update on the project, published in October 2010, EPRI program manager Bernard Neenan wrote: "The customer population has grown to about 100,000 (approximately 12 percent of all residences served by...1
