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FERC Complaint Targets Duke, PJM Transmission Planning

A coalition of large energy consumers and ratepayer advocates has filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), urging the agency to prohibit transmission owners from independently planning "local" transmission projects exceeding 100 kilovolts (kV). The coalition argues that such local planning, lacking independent oversight, leads to inefficient and costly transmission development, resulting in unjust and unreasonable rates for consumers.

Background

Transmission planning involves determining the necessary infrastructure to transport electricity from generation...

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Line Leakage Testing: Is It Right For Your Application

The Line Leakage test (LLT for short) is most often specified to be performed as a type test in a design or engineering laboratory or as a routine production line test on medical devices right before they ship. Not as commonly performed as a Dielectric Withstand or Ground Bond test in a production...
Climate Change News

B.C. Climate Update: Key Actions in Climate Fight

In British Columbia (B.C.), the climate crisis remains an urgent issue, with various developments over the past few years underscoring the challenges and actions needed to address it. From projections of Earth's warming not improving in recent years to growing calls for a national youth climate...

T&D Trends

Overhead T&D

Copper Theft: A Call to Action

How utilities can stand firm to save money and save lives

BY PHILL FELTHAM, Executive Editor
Electricity Today Magazine

Copper theft has become a growing problem for utilities in Canada and the United States. This precious metal has increased in value in recent years, so thieves are stripping copper from substations and power lines to make money. Unfortunately, copper theft does more than cost millions of dollars in damage for utilities; it costs lives as well. The serious impact of copper theft has caused governments, utilities, and power sector organizations to take notice. In fact, the Canadian Electricity Association (CEA), for example, recently released a white paper entitled “Copper Theft from Canada’s Electricity Infrastructure”. The paper details the damage copper theft has caused to Canada’s power industry and its customers. Here are a few examples from that paper.

THEFTS ENDANGER CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
Copper theft can place children...

Overhead

Rugged Tablets for Utility Fleet Vehicles

In reports analyzing the response of power utilities to incidents such as Hurricane Sandy, or the more recent ice storms on the east coast, one item has been remarkably consistent—the conclusion that communication requires improvements. The concern is not hard to fathom. Knowing accurately when...

Underground

Underground Distribution Sensors

Exploring the benefits of wide-area monitoring BY TED MYERS, On-Ramp Wireless The average citizen and business experiences over 120 minutes of electricity outage duration a year. This has a significant societal impact costing 10s to hundreds of billions of dollars annually. Furthermore, the measure...

Infrastructure

Utility Pole Showdown: Wood vs. Steel

A recent study that takes an in-depth look at the environmental performance of wood and steel utility poles challenges current perceptions on the sustainability advantages of wood poles when compared with steel poles. The detailed study, titled “Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Southern...