Game Changers
State regulators address transformative forces.
In Fortnightly’s Regulators’ Roundtable, commissioners from Idaho, Illinois, and Minnesota consider transformative forces and the regulatory response.
ComEd
ComEd Begins Smart Meter Installations
Submitted by aburr on Mon, 2013-09-23 13:10As part of its 10-year, $2.6 billion grid modernization program, ComEd began installation of more than 4 million smart meters throughout its service territory. ComEd expects to install 60,000 smart meters by the end of 2013. The full deployment will be complete in 2021.
Digest
ComEd selects GE for 4 million smart meters; Duquesne contracts Itron for 625,000 smart meters; Consumers Energy plans 700-MW combined-cycle plant; Phoenix Solar contracts for 39-MW PV plant; NRG starts operation at two 20-MW PV plants in California; Edison files suit against Mitsubishi for SONGS defects; FirstEnergy plans 2 GW of coal-plant shutdowns; FERC approves PacifiCorp tie-in with Cal ISO; PSEG commissions EV-charging facilities; plus announcements and contracts involving Toshiba, Direct Energy, Alstom, and others.
ComEd and GE Sign $200M Smart Meter Deal to Modernize Northern Illinois Grid
Submitted by aburr on Mon, 2013-08-05 22:12ComEd selected GE to deliver approximately four million smart meters from 2013 to 2021 in a deal worth more than $200 million.
Digest
Williams completes Transco pipeline expansion and plans a new one; Hudson Transmission electrifies underwater line between New Jersey and Manhattan; Northern Power wind turbines installed at Hawaii microgrid project; GE boosts efficiency of diesels powering remote Alaskan cooperative; Siemens installs supercapacitor on Oregon rail line; plus contracts and announcements from Bonneville Power Administration, Primus Power, Ameren, ComEd, Silver Spring Networks, Toshiba, Babcock & Wilcox, and others.
Big Data, Big Change
Analytics chart a path for industry transformation.
“Without integrating operational data with traditional IT data, I don’t think the industry would be any further along than it was five or 10 years ago.”
~Steve Ehrlich, Space Time Insight
Digest
Abengoa and BrightSource Energy agreed to jointly develop, build, and operate what the companies say will be the world’s two largest solar power towers. GE began operating a prototype of what it calls the world’s most efficient high-output wind turbine. Hawaiian Electric Co. dedicated the new 5-MW Kalaeloa solar farm in West Oahu, Hawaii. And more...
People (May 2013)
New Opportunities: Ben Fowke, chairman, president and CEO of Xcel Energy, was named to a committee composed of CEOs from the utility and nuclear industries that will receive regular briefings from the FBI, National Security Agency, Department of Energy, and Department of Homeland Security to begin cooperative efforts on cybersecurity issues.
Smart Grid at a Crossroads
Refining the business case for advanced distribution investments.
As utilities plan their capital budgets for the next few years, investments in advanced distribution systems face an uncertain future. Customers question the value—and propriety—of some programs, while long-term strategic goals depend on seamless integration. What will be the path forward for smart grid technology?
RTO Tango
PJM and MISO ran from the altar once before. Now there’s talk of a shotgun wedding.
Utilities in the Midwest ISO want greater access to sell into PJM’s lucrative market. But that might require a virtual merger of the two RTOs — a move rejected seven years ago as too costly, and perhaps still impractical today.