Distribution companies are continually looking for ways to improve system reliability, all while conserving capital investments and operational costs. With an aging infrastructure, one of the main issues that utilities face is a way to assess the actual condition of their capital assets.
With respect to underground cables, utilities can achieve enhanced reliability by developing a smarter asset management strategy. Historically, utilities used a reactive-based maintenance approach: when a cable fails, have it replaced. However,...
Aging underground residential distribution (URD) cables is a growing problem in communities around the world, disrupting customers and causing business challenges for utility providers. But in most cases, the traditional remedy for URD cable failure—taking the impacted...
How utilities can stand firm to save money and save lives BY PHILL FELTHAM, Executive EditorElectricity 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...
Reflections: Nearly twenty years ago when I got into the energy business, reliability was a second-tier design objective for most transmission engineers. Safety factors had already been established and the materials we used for structures and powerline wires (conductors) were well known. While...
Brief Background: In the early 1900's Aluminum Conductor Steel Reinforced (ACSR) conductor was developed to replace copper wires, due to the war effort when copper was needed for munitions. In the 1970's growing demand for electricity inspired the development of higher capacity Aluminum Conductor...
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...
In a significant move that underscores the growing demand for reliable and sustainable energy to power the expanding digital infrastructure, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved an interconnection agreement between Talen Energy, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Exelon. This...
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...
Essentially, cable cleats are devices designed to secure cables and to ensure the retention and support of them, reducing the load that the cable may be exposed to under its own weight. They are also designed to contain the cables under fault conditions, protecting the cables and the cable...
To support decarbonization mandates in the U.S., many utilities and transco's have proposed new transmission lines to link load centers with new renewable generation assets and move power from one region to another over vast distances. While the U.S. government continues to struggle to find ways to...
Brief Background: In the early 1900’s Aluminum Conductor Steel Reinforced (ACSR) conductor was developed to replace copper wires, due to the war effort when copper was needed for munitions. In the 1970’s growing demand for electricity inspired the development of higher capacity...
