Become a PUF Member Organization

Keeping Employees Engaged

To win hearts and minds, it takes more than a t-shirt and a coffee mug.

Employee engagement can become a company strength that supports utilities through challenging times. Consider employee engagement a strategic investment in coping with disruptive change.
Byline: 

John Egan

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People (June 2015)

Andrew L. Ott will be PJM Interconnection’s president and CEO later this year; American Transmission Co. named Mike Rowe the company’s future president and CEO; DTE Energy named Paula Silver as v.p. for corporate communications; Georgia Power named Craig Barrs executive v.p. of the company’s customer service and operations organization; ITC Holdings promoted Christine Mason Soneral to senior v.p.; E.ON Energy Services named Keith Day president; Gil C. Quini­ones was elected chair of EPRI; Jane Palmieri was elected industry co-chair at the Alliance to Save Energy; Rich Meyer was named president of the nation’s Energy Bar Association; and others.
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The Driving Ambition of Elon Musk

An electric car in every driveway, a battery in every garage.

Tesla’s Elon Musk is driving the electric car off the lot and onto the premises of America’s electric utilities, proposing to build and sell energy storage batteries on both a residential and grid-wide scale – ideas that the chief executive will fully flesh out at the Edison Electric Institute’s annual meeting in New Orleans this June.
Byline: 

Ken Silverstein

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Pattern Energy Completes Acquisition of Two Wind Power Facilities Totaling 351 MW from Wind Capital Group

Submitted by aburr on Fri, 2015-05-29 13:43

Pattern Energy closed the previously announced acquisition of two operational wind power facilities totaling 351 MW from Wind Capital Group and its affiliates for a final purchase price of $242 million plus assumed net debt of $102 million. The acquisition includes ownership interests in the 201-MW Post Rock Wind facility in Kansas, and the 150-MW Lost Creek Wind facility in Missouri. The Post Rock Wind facility in Kansas has a long-term contract with Westar.

NRC Requires Additional Earthquake Risk Analysis for Two Western U.S. Reactors

Submitted by aburr on Fri, 2015-05-29 13:42

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission set a June 2017 deadline for two of three Western U.S. operating nuclear power plants to conduct in-depth analyses of their updated earthquake risk. The NRC is requiring Columbia (Benton County, Wash.) and Diablo Canyon (Avila Beach, Calif.) to submit their detailed risk analysis by June 30, 2017. The NRC continues to examine information from Palo Verde (Wintersburg, Ariz.); if the agency concludes the plant needs the in-depth risk analysis it must complete the work by Dec. 31, 2020.

Southern Company Subsidiary Acquires 103-MW Georgia Solar Project

Submitted by aburr on Fri, 2015-05-29 13:41

Southern Company subsidiary Southern Power acquired the 103-MW Butler solar facility from Community Energy. The facility, located on approximately 1,070 acres in Taylor County, Georgia, is expected to enter commercial operation in the fourth quarter of 2016. Construction is slated to begin in September 2015, with First Solar managing the building, operations and maintenance of the facility.

SunEdison Awarded 33 MW Deal to Modernize the Grid in Southern California with Solar

Submitted by aburr on Fri, 2015-05-29 13:41

SunEdison was awarded contracts to build 33 MW of rooftop solar with Southern California Edison (SCE). SCE will purchase the electricity from 17 rooftop solar systems through 20-year PPA. TerraForm Power intends to acquire these projects from SunEdison upon completion. Operation and maintenance of the solar power plants will be performed by SunEdison Services. The solar power plants are scheduled to be operational in 2016.

Duke Energy, LG Chem, Greensmith to Build Fast-Response Energy Storage System in Ohio

Submitted by aburr on Fri, 2015-05-29 13:40

Duke Energy, LG Chem and Greensmith teamed up to build a battery-based energy storage system in Ohio, designed to enhance reliability and increase stability on the electric power grid. The new 2-MW storage project will assist in regulating electric grid frequency for PJM, the transmission organization that powers much of the eastern U.S. The system will be built at Duke Energy's retired W.C. Beckjord coal-fired power plant in New Richmond, Ohio, and is expected to be operational by late 2015.