The road to the current reliability crisis is paved with four decades of bad policy decisions.

 

The technical causes of the great Northeast blackout of August 2003 are coming into focus. For reasons yet unknown as of press time, transmission lines in northern Ohio were lost to the grid, and within seconds 50 million people in the United States and Canada were without power. Soon we will no doubt know the specific reasons for the blackout, and technical corrections and improvements will be made.

In a "like kind exchange" transaction, the IRS permits a seller to defer taxes on its inherent gain on assets being sold.

The utility community is starting to experiment with a "like kind exchange" (LKE)-a type of tax-advantaged asset acquisition and disposition transaction used extensively in connection with commercial real estate and various types of personal property, but which heretofore has not achieved widespread acceptance in the utility industry.

Field Service Computers: Consider the Variables-and the Benefits

 

 

Communications platforms, ruggedness, software, and other factors all play a part in your purchase choice.

When a utility considers equipping its field service work force with computers, the decision-making process often starts with software-not with questions about the ruggedness of the utility's field device, or whether the company should go with a Panasonic or an Itronix laptop.

Judy Pensabene has joined the Republican staff of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee as deputy chief counsel. She is returning to the committee, where she worked from 1990 to 1995, after serving as vice president of federal affairs at Constellation Energy Group.

Entergy announced that Peter P. Schneider has been hired as vice president of Nuclear Human Resources, a new position within the company. Schneider's prior experience includes stints at Human Resources Strategies and Solutions, Inc., Exelon, and PECO Energy.

 

Some want to cut costs, others to improve service.

Uncertain economic times have always moved companies to find ways to cut costs. Utilities and energy companies are no different. They have turned to automated meter reading (AMR) during the past years in increasing numbers.

But many technology experts disagree on strategy: should utilities go high-tech or low-tech on AMR?

Allegheny Energy announced the election of two vice presidents. , vice president for corporate development, became vice president of Allegheny Energy Inc. , deputy general counsel, became a vice president of Allegheny Energy Service Corp. Dailey joined the company in 1991, and Burke joined in 1999.