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State of Industry


Substation Focused on Environmental Design

One of the important trends in design of new overhead lines over the past 20 years has been development of structures and designs that are less obtrusive and more pleasing visually. Much the same process has also been going on at substations. For example, even 25 years ago, efforts had already been...


Biden’s Green Vision vs. Trump’s Traditional Energy Policies

In the ever-evolving landscape of U.S. climate policy, the 2024 presidential race highlights a significant divergence between candidates on the future of climate change and energy strategy. The contrasting visions of President Joe Biden's administration and former President Donald Trump underscore...

Bills Threaten Renewable Growth and Raise Costs

Texas is at a pivotal crossroads in its energy policy, with legislative actions that could significantly reshape the state's electricity landscape. A recent report by Aurora Energy Research, commissioned by the Texas Association of Business, warns that proposed restrictions on renewable energy...

Fire Safety & Smart Meters

New study shows metering devices are electrically safe BY LEN GARIS, Fire Chief of the City of Surrey A new study by a Canadian university may help mitigate any lingering concerns about the fire safety of smart meters. “Revisiting the Safety of Smart Meter Installations in British Columbia”,...

Texas PUC Shelves $1B Grid Credit Mechanism

The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) has unanimously decided to shelve the proposed $1 billion Performance Credit Mechanism (PCM) for power generators, concluding that it would not deliver the anticipated grid reliability benefits. The PCM was conceived as a means to incentivize power...

State of Industry

RTU and HMI Redundancy in Electrical Substations

As the substation RTU takes on more applications, such as Human-Machine-Interface (HMI), alarm annunciation, math & logic and “relay communication processing”, its need for high availability increases. Anything that takes the RTU out of service – configuration change, firmware update, or component failure – means not only loss of SCADA but also loss of local visibility, loss of non-operational data and, in some applications, loss of local control. Redundancy can address the needs for higher...

State of Industry Articles