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"Bolstering FPL Grid Too Costly, Study Says"
South Florida Business Journal (01/22/06) P. 1B ; Heroux, Marcia
A study commissioned by Florida Power & Light (FPL) and conducted by consultancy KEMA said the utility's power grid needs to be strengthen to withstand hurricanes, but that improving the entire electrical infrastructure would be too costly.
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"IBM Jump-starts BPL Market"
Red Herring (02/09/06)
IBM has partnered with CenterPoint Energy to implement an intelligent grid network. However, the network will be launched on a smaller-scale compared to what broadband over power lines (BPL) supporters hoped for. IBM's vice president of BPL initiatives, Raymond Blair, noted that utilities have yet to "close the business case on commercial broadband service," which has discouraged development of broadband projects. Blair added that the smaller project proposed by IBM and CenterPoint saves considerable investment costs when compared to developing a larger network. Intelligent grid networks can provide utilities with monitoring capabilities for tracking outages, power consumption, and system concerns. In addition, utilities can use intelligent networks to reroute power flows to avoid passing through problem areas on the grid. CenterPoint plans to use the technology to read electricity and gas meters and for service disconnection and reconnection. Only two large-scale commercial BPL projects have moved forward in the United States during the last five years.
Abstract News © Copyright 2006 INFORMATION, INC.
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"I.T., Not Just Elbow Grease, Help Utility's Recovery"
Baseline (01/06) No. 54 , P. 60 ; Violino, Bob
Southern Co.--operator of 71 fossil-fuel and hydro power plants--implemented an enterprise content management system to streamline document searches. The system was especially helpful in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Ivan. The company chose an enterprise content management system developed by Documentum. Workers accessed the database for substation drawings, which were then transferred to CDs to provide illustrations for work crews equipped with laptops during the recovery effort. The system has reduced the time required for document searchers from roughly two hours prior to implementation of the system to less than 10 minutes. The older system primarily used paper documents to record information and schematics, which required workers to physically locate documents needed for projects. The system, which contains more than 2 million documents, is designed to aid more than 7,000 employees stationed in different regions. The company provides power to more than 4 million customers via its large network of natural-gas, oil, coal, and hydro assets. Implementation of the technology allowed for the elimination of three legacy systems, which cut annual costs by an estimated $40,000.
Abstract News © Copyright 2006 INFORMATION, INC.
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"SCE&G to Scan for Savings"
The State (SC) (02/16/06) P. B6 ; Werner, Ben
The SCE&G utility in South Carolina is installing about 40,000 automated meters in parts of its service area, mostly in West Columbia, Cayce, and the Lexington area, which could put an end to the hazards posed to meter readers--which have included locked gates, guard dogs, and even armed residents. The automated meters, about 61,000 of which are already installed in the coastal area of SCE&G's territory, put out radio signals that are picked up by antennas on SCE&G cars, which can drive by without a need to stop or even slow down. Information received by the antennas is passed on to a computer in the back seat of the car, which records the meter reading. The meter can be installed just about anywhere on a property. Not only does this technology eliminate traditional hazards to meter readers, but it also makes meter reading much more quick and efficient, and Don Faircloth of SCE&G parent SCANA Corp. said the price of the new technology should be offset by the gains in efficiency and customer service.
Abstract News © Copyright 2006 INFORMATION, INC.
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