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Substation Automation T&D


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...

Energy Storage & Grid Integration


FERC Conference Highlights Challenges in Resource Adequacy

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) recently hosted the Co-Located Load Conference, a significant event that focused on resource adequacy, energy reliability, and the challenges of ensuring sufficient electricity supply amidst changing grid dynamics. As the energy landscape continues to...

Asset Management & Maintenance


Cyber Threats on the Rise Invest Now to Boost Power Grid Defenses

Critical infrastructure security is in the national spotlight. In 2020, the power grid and energy sector was the third most targeted sector for cyber-attacks, up from ninth place in 2019, and the threats are growing more sophisticated. The Biden administration recently issued a national security...

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...

Utility Automation & Monitoring T&D


Tracking Smart City Trends

Already, smart city technologies are strong in Europe and the Middle East. Now, cities all over North America are joining the smart cities movement as well. Once the journey begins, a city quickly realizes that it cannot become smart and sustainable without the help of its electric power utility....

Smart Metering T&D


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...

T&D Automation

Using Data Analytics for Theft and Revenue Protection

Taking another step to preventing power theft

BY PATRICIA SEIFERT, PhD, Itron

For many years, industries have long leveraged analysis tools to predict customer-purchasing behavior, potential buying power, and customer product selection. Interpreting the information available can give an organization a profound advantage in increasingly competitive markets.

The utility industry is taking its first steps toward realizing the potential of interpreting the years of accumulated data in existing systems, such as meter data management...

T&D Automation Articles