“Smart City” initiatives and technologies have already captured the imagination of the water industry. Slowly, they are starting to capture their investment dollars, too. Data sensors, smart metering and cloud-based analytics software offer water utilities unprecedented access to real-time information about consumption, system demand and pressure points, according to Jeff Neemann, Solution Lead for Smart… Keep reading →
With utility service providers increasingly joining the smart systems movement, it has become clear that continued progress greatly depends upon customer buy-in, either through rate cases or the customers’ own installation of smart devices at the home. Creative education efforts can place customers in a partnership role with utilities and can help users understand the… Keep reading →
Bar the Shell-BG merger in April 2015, the value of oil and gas mergers in the second quarter of 2015 was the lowest since 2008. [EIA] Hawaii Governor David Ige has stated that he doesn’t support the sale of Hawaiian Electric to Florida-based NextEra Energy. [The Huffington Post] A strategy pushed by former Alaska Governor… Keep reading →
As power, oil and gas, water and wastewater utilities begin the process of exploring how to build their next large infrastructure project, the most important decision in the entire process may rest with the selection of the EPC (engineering, procurement, construction) contractor. While many EPC providers exist, they operate in varied fashions – and some… Keep reading →
FERC found that a storage device using a utility’s distribution system in charging mode should share in the costs of the distribution system.
As can be gleaned from recent reports in the popular and trade press, activity is swirling around energy storage systems, highlighted by Tesla’s April 30 announcement of its “Powerwall” residential energy backup system. “The development of economic, reliable energy storage systems is the missing link in the deployment of renewable energy, and in particular solar… Keep reading →
The advancement of sensor technology has outstripped everyone’s wildest expectations. Couple this influx of data creation with new communications technologies and utility leaders are now encountering a data tsunami. While much of this data could be viewed as extremely low quality and of little use, several steps can be taken to extract better data. As… Keep reading →
Russian oil output neared record figures during May, despite speculation before an OPEC meeting this week that major producers may cooperate to curb a global supply surplus. “Production of oil and natural-gas condensate climbed 1.6 percent from a year earlier to 10.708 million barrels a day, close to January’s post-Soviet record of 10.713 million barrels… Keep reading →
The “performance-based” utility regulation could set stage for modernization efforts like those underway in California and New York. Colorado’s state legislature is seeking to follow the lead of states like California, New York, Hawaii and Massachusetts in revamping its utility regulations to better serve for a more distributed, customer-empowered energy future. Colorado House Bill 1250… Keep reading →
Have you ever heard of a synchrophasor? It may sound like a word out of science fiction, but these mailbox-sized devices are already changing the electrical grid as we know it. The grid was born over a century ago, at a time when our needs were simpler and our demand much lower. More complex needs… Keep reading →
