Become a PUF Member Organization

Technology on the Move

Military and telecom expertise create high-tech utility solution

Imagine trying to hold a 120-foot antenna in 90 mile-per-hour winds…an antenna that if moved more than an inch, would lose its signal. That was just one of the challenges facing Xcel Energy as it strategized creating a temporary microwave connection to secure vital communications for a new substation in New Mexico in order to meet contractual requirements.
Byline: 

Jason Brown

Read Entire Article

Activating the Human Grid

Involvement of the crew and utility customer is a powerful untapped source of telemetry, control and general network information

The purpose fulfilling the other half of the human grid is to leverage the consumer to provide outage and restoration telemetry, and in some cases, a degree of load control, since the consumer ultimately controls the load.
Byline: 

Gary Ockwell

Read Entire Article

Postcards from Hawaii: Lessons on Grid Transformation

Hawaiian utility experts describe the islands’ fast-growing solar market as a postcard from the future

The group spent four days immersed in Hawaii’s dynamic solar market, listening and learning from the experiences of utility executives, policy makers, solar and clean tech players.
Byline: 

K Kaufmann, John Pang, John Sterling and Chris Vlahoplus

Read Entire Article

Community Storage: Coming to a Home Near You

A readily available option for storage may be coordinating existing devices that have untapped storage capacity

Despite battery technology’s ability to grab clean tech media headlines, industry still lacks a clear, practical, cost-effective path.
Byline: 

Keith Dennis

Read Entire Article

Rate Structure Philosophy

Rate design will need to become more flexible, more duly discriminatory, more tailored to the diversity of consumers

Not many know fixed charges are there to cover utilities’ invariant costs for keeping up the grid, and can be half of all costs.
Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

Read Entire Article

Response to Huntoon Re: Big Transmission

Letter to the Editor: A response to the article by Steve Huntoon in our September 2015 issue

Public/regulatory policy, economic viability and non-negotiable need to sustain near-100-percent system reliability could soon push building more “big transmission.”
Byline: 

Michael Beehler

Read Entire Article

Response to Cicchetti/Wellinghoff Re: Net Metering

Letters to the Editor: A response to the article by Charles Cicchetti and Jon Wellinghoff in our December 2015 issue

A major mistake is the claim, under net metering, customers who generate power with rooftop solar simply “bank” or “park” their extra electricity with their utility, retaining ownership rights.
Byline: 

Ashley Brown

Read Entire Article