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Distribution Automation


Underground Smart Grid

In recent years, the cost to bury high-voltage power lines has decreased dramatically. The American Transmission Company reports that installation costs for underground transmission lines (over 100 kilovolts) are now only 2.5 to 10 times the cost of an equivalent overhead line. Consequently, the...

Smart Metering T&D


FirstEnergy Explores Alternatives to PJM Capacity Market

In a strategic move aimed at enhancing its power supply reliability, FirstEnergy is actively exploring alternatives to the PJM capacity market. This development reflects the company’s proactive approach to addressing challenges within the existing market structure and ensuring a more robust...

Energy Storage & Grid Integration


PG&E Secures $15B Loan for Energy Upgrades

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), a major utility serving Northern and Central California, has secured a conditional $15 billion loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Loan Programs Office. This funding aims to enhance PG&E's hydropower generation, battery storage...

Substation Automation T&D


A Grid With Multiple Applications

Examining the foundational elements in architecture decision BY TOM WILSON, Itron In recent years, the utility industry has seen a diverse set of use cases for Smart Grid deployments emerge. North American electric utilities are carefully considering architecture decisions to ensure that the...

Utility Automation & Monitoring T&D


Deep Packet Inspection Firewalls

Protecting legacy SCADA systems from cyberattacks BY ERIC BYRES, Belden Over the past decade, the power industry has embraced network technologies such as Ethernet and transmission control protocol (TCP)/Internet protocol suite (IP) for supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) and...

Asset Management & Maintenance


Smart Grid and Aging Infrastructure

Why technologies are important to grid modernization BY MANI VADARI, Modern Grid Solutions Electricity is one of the cornerstones of our economy. A modern electric grid is critical for our economic and national security. The National Academy of Engineering has called the North American power grid...

T&D Automation

Cloud Computing for Electric Utilities

Need-to-know info for electric utilities

BY LEN WHITTEN, SunGard Availability Services

The electric power industry has often been a first-mover in adopting new technologies before other industries move forward with implementation. For example, electric utilities were among the first companies to employ mainframe computers in the 1960s. However, one tech advance— cloud computing for electric utilities —has been slow to catch on within the industry.

This revelation is somewhat surprising since the cloud can...

T&D Automation Articles