ATC

American Transmission Co. Trying New Drone Technology as Option for Transmission Line Inspections

American Transmission Co. (ATC) contracted with HAZON Solutions to conduct a pilot program to evaluate using drones to inspect transmission lines on its system. The drone used by HAZON is approximately 25 pounds, 2.5 feet in diameter, has eight rotors and is equipped with a high-resolution camera. Drones are increasingly being used by utilities across the nation for inspection purposes. If the pilot program is successful, ATC will evaluate using drone technology in other parts of its service area.

Regulatory Roundup

2004 FERC roundup: Path 15 Upgrade; Gas Bypass Pipeline; Power Line Communications; Gen Station Power Needs; ISO Retail Service; Renewable Energy Portfolios; Gas Supply Risk; Fuel Cost Hedging; Utility Supply Solicitations; Provider of Last Resort; Coal Seam Gas; Deceptive Marketing Practices; Renewable Portfolio Standards.

American Transmission Company Completes Zoo Interchange Work

American Transmission Co. (ATC) completed its work in the Zoo Interchange to relocate and erect new electric transmission infrastructure to accommodate the Wisconsin Department of Transportation's interchange expansion plans. ATC began the transmission line portion of the project in June 2013 to relocate seven overhead 138-kV transmission lines and erect 59 single pole structures to replace 58 lattice towers.

Wired Together

For DATC, grid expansion is a team effort.

An interview with key executives of Duke-American Transmission Co.: Phillip Grigsby, president, and Randy Satterfield, executive vice president. Both also sit on DATC's Board of Managers.

Life in the Transco Age

The competitive transmission genie is out of the bottle.

FERC Orders 890 and 1000 have opened the doors to independent transcos, heralding an era of innovation to solve reliability and capacity problems.

The Fortnightly 40 Best Energy Companies

The dash to gas brings volatility in shareholder performance.

Fortnightly’s 2013 ranking of shareholder value performance shows substantial changes, with gas prices weighing on some utilities and elevating others.

The Fortnightly 40 Best Energy Companies

A challenging year brings a change in the rankings.

(September 2012) Our annual financial ranking shows some remarkable shifts among the industry’s shareholder value leaders. Despite flat demand and low commodity prices, investor-owned utilities are investing heavily in capital assets. Investment discipline and operational excellence distinguish leaders on the path to financial performance.

Vendor Neutral

(April 2012) MidAmerican Energy awarded a contract to Siemens Energy to supply wind turbines for its 407-MW project expansion. American Electric Power began operating the 580-MW Dresden natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plant. Duke Energy and ChinaHuaneng Group signed a three-year agreement expanding their research cooperation to include coal and carbon capture and sequestration technologies. And others...

Killing the Goose

Second thoughts on transmission’s golden egg.

The electric utility industry offers up a wealth of ideas on how the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission might reform its policy, adopted under FERC Order 679 in 2006, of granting financial incentives for investments in transmission line projects that ensure reliability or mitigate line congestion so as to reduce the cost of delivered power. Fortnightly’s Bruce W. Radford reports.

Vendor Neutral

(February 2012) Siemens acquires eMeter; Long Island Power Authority selects PSEG to manage T&D system; Mountain Parks Electric awards SCADA/DMS contract to Open Systems International; Kiewit and Sargent and Lundy award contract to Hitachi; plus announcements and contracts involving SAIC, Shell, Landis+Gyr, and others.