Ethernet and the IP protocol bring tremendous advantages to power utilities – and in particular substations – through international standardization. This keeps the cost of equipment low, ensures ...

Meeting demand for electricity is just one of the issues facing utilities today. Utilities are pushing to transform as momentum continues toward Smart Grid… The Smart Grid is an industry ...

The Power of Zinc and Weathering Steel Extends Steel’s Service Life The quality and inherent value of steel distribution poles is often enhanced by the process of hot-dip galvanizing, or the use of ...

Batteries are among the least expensive pieces of equipment in a substation, and they are the heart that keeps the protection and control system running. Despite this, they are often not maintained ...

Most electric utilities have implemented either a Geographic Information System (GIS) or some type of mapping system. Many maintain an asset management system. A small but rapidly growing number are ...

Loading capability of power transformers is limited mainly by winding temperature. As part of acceptance tests on new units, the temperature rise test is intended to demonstrate that, at full load and ...

The business case for AMI deployment has often been made palatable to the regulators on the basis of widespread business benefits for the utility and the ratepayer. While present deployments have ...

Understanding diagnostic testing of HV Circuit Breakers is essential. When diagnostic tests are performed on HV Circuit Breakers, valuable information can be extracted. From a technical maintenance ...

I sat restlessly at the kitchen table taking the last gulp from my third cup of coffee wondering if I had made the right decision: The decision to put myself into the race for Deputy Mayor [of ...

In spite of all the rhetoric about “getting the lead out”, most larger North American urban centers are still maintaining some form of medium voltage underground network power distribution system ...

Many electric distribution organizations are presently evaluating their approach to integrating three key operational systems – SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition), OMS (Outage Management ...

Market restructuring and regulatory requirements are changing the way utilities operate. At the center of industry change is the Customer Information System, often referred to as the CIS. By upgrading ...