Power Distribution News

A cross-cutting team composed of NREL, Holy Cross Energy, Survalent, and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association is studying approaches to integrating grid-friendly distributed energy resources (DERs).The collaboration will test the benefits of control algorithms as applied to data acquired from Holy Cross Energy's distribution management system.While most large, investor-owned ...

Mar. 24, 2019

By Smart Grid Observer

Venezuela´s state-owned PdV is struggling to restore its upstream and downstream operations that were mostly shut down after a catastrophic nationwide blackout that started to ease yesterday. Three heavy crude upgraders, a blending plant and other facilities at the Jose terminal in Anzoátegui state remain suspended ...

Mar. 10, 2019

By Argus Media Ltd.

Cyient, a global provider of engineering, manufacturing, geospatial, networks, digital, and operations management solutions to global industry leaders, will execute a project for UK Power Networks, the UK's largest electricity distribution network operator. As part of the innovation project, called "Network Vision", Cyient will develop an online outage planning and tracking integration ...

Mar. 10, 2019

By Smart Grid Observer

Venezuela's main oil export terminal and heavy crude processing complex in Jose are shut down as a historic blackout persists across much of the country today. Crude exports were already backed up because of US oil sanctions before the record power outage darkened nearly all of Venezuela on 7 March. Around 14mn bl of crude are backed up in tankers anchored offshore. Three heavy crude upgraders ...

Mar. 9, 2019

By Argus Media Ltd.

Potomac Edison, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., will begin installing electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in Maryland later this year and offer rebates for both residential and non-residential charger installations. The initiative is part of a pilot program recently approved by the Maryland Public Service Commission to benefit the state's environment by reducing auto emissions. Over the ...

Mar. 5, 2019

By Smart Grid Observer

To help residential customers see the real impact of ComEd's electric grid investments on their electric service, the company is providing them with their own personalized reliability reports. These reports summarize the percentage of time customers received power over the course of the prior year, as well as the number of outages experienced, if any. Customers will be able to compare this ...

Mar. 5, 2019

By Smart Grid Observer

Landis+Gyr recently announced that the deployment of advanced meters and intelligent devices at Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has eclipsed 20 million, keeping the project on schedule for completion in 2020. Upon project completion the utility’s IoT network, the largest of its kind currently deployed, will connect close to 30 million utility and consumer devices using a variety of ...

Mar. 4, 2019

By Smart Grid Observer

Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) recently (2/26) unveiled a new piece of smart grid technology, called the Automated Transformer Switch (ATS), to prevent and reduce power outages. The announcement regarding the ATS, also known as a VacuFuse Self-Resetting Interrupter, comes as FPL reaches a major smart grid technology milestone, completing the system-wide installation of 80,000 smart ...

Feb. 27, 2019

By Smart Grid Observer

eMotorWerks, a subsidiary of the Enel Group’s new advanced energy services business line Enel X, announced it will be supporting Platte River Power Authority (Platte River), a not-for-profit wholesale electricity generation and transmission provider in Colorado, with the electricity provider’s first electric vehicle (EV) distributed charging study by supplying its smart charging ...

Feb. 26, 2019

By Smart Grid Observer

Joi Scientific, whose mission is to make clean and affordable hydrogen energy available to all, is to co-develop with New Brunswick Power a hydrogen production system to enable the world’s first electricity grid that uses hydrogen as a baseload. The major electric utility in Canada’s Eastern Maritime province, NB Power is re-architecting its operations to create a highly efficient and ...

Feb. 26, 2019

By Smart Grid Observer

Xage Security recently announced Xage Enforcement Point to deliver universal access control for industrial operations. According to Xage security, the company’s Xage Enforcement Point (XEP), for the first time, enables role-based access control and single sign-on for every device, from legacy control systems to the newest IoT machines -- even those previously lacking any ...

Feb. 20, 2019

By Smart Grid Observer

The Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC), now incorporating OpenFog, and the Wi-SUN Alliance, a global member-based association driving the proliferation of interoperable wireless solutions for use in smart cities, smart utilities and other Internet of Things (IoT) applications, announced they have agreed to work together to advance their shared interests. Under the agreement, the IIC and the ...

Feb. 14, 2019

By Smart Grid Observer

A report authored by economists at global economic consulting firm The Brattle Group reviews the business case and cost recovery mechanisms for grid modernization investments in the U.S. Prepared for the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), the Brattle report reviewed 21 recent grid modernization investments and conducted 10 case studies to assess how grid modernization ...

Feb. 14, 2019

By Smart Grid Observer

The Retail Energy Supply Association (RESA), the nation's leading trade association representing competitive retail energy suppliers, today (2/11) released new research on electricity price trends that reveals an eye-opening cost disparity between monopoly and competitive states. Researchers have discovered that, while the electricity industry as a whole is facing unprecedented market ...

Feb. 11, 2019

By Smart Grid Observer

The U.S. Department of Energy recently announced $35 million in awards for 12 projects that find new ways to harness medium-voltage electricity for applications in industry, transportation, on the grid and beyond. The selected projects are part of ARPA-E’s Building Reliable Electronics to Achieve Kilovolt Effective Ratings Safely (BREAKERS) program, as well as the latest OPEN+ cohort, ...

Feb. 11, 2019

By Smart Grid Observer

The N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC) released its 2018 annual review and Q4 2018 update edition of The 50 States of Grid Modernization. The quarterly series provides insights on state regulatory and legislative discussions and actions on grid modernization, utility business model and rate reforms, energy storage, microgrids, and demand response. The report finds that 44 ...

Feb. 10, 2019

By Smart Grid Observer

ABB and Intel signed a formal agreement to collaborate on the marketing and selling of next-generation distribution automation systems and products for protection and control in utility and industrial applications. At the core of the agreement is ABB Ability smart substation control and protection for electrical systems, SSC600, powered by Intel Xeon processors. SSC600 centralizes all protection ...

Feb. 10, 2019

By Smart Grid Observer

At DistribuTECH 2019, Opus One Solutions, a leader in grid software engineering, announced the launch of its web based GridOS® Integrated Distribution Planning (IDP) product with Hawaiian Electric. IDP is a hosted, scalable, automated grid planning solution that allows utilities to design the grid of the future. The solution targets the entire ecosystem around ...

Feb. 7, 2019

By Smart Grid Observer

The California Independent System Operator (ISO) Board of Governors today (2/7) approved policy changes aimed at clearing the path for generation and storage projects as they move through the electric grid interconnection process.These enhancements will ultimately help California meet public policy goals in the midst of a quickly changing energy environment.With 288 active generation and storage ...

Feb. 7, 2019

By Smart Grid Observer

Energy distribution is no longer a linear equation. As new energy and data sources continue to grow, utilities must take a more holistic approach to better understand and manage resources and engage increasingly active customers at the edge of the grid. The expanded Oracle Utilities Network Management System (NMS) addresses this market need with a new Distributed Energy Resource ...

Feb. 5, 2019

By Smart Grid Observer