Infrared safety: using thermal technologies to protect workers
BY DOUG BARRY, FLIR Systems
Disconnect switches, elbow connectors, cutouts, lightning arrestors, oil-filled circuit breakers, and other electrical components tend to heat up before they fail. The ability to detect overheating on such equipment long before it becomes critical is essential for preventing costly unplanned outages and for protecting workers from exposure to potential arc flashes and faults. The experienced and well-trained know it’s crucial to heed...
How to protect workers with an occupational health and safety management system BY IVANA STRGACIC, Strategies for the Environment Inc. Reliability (that is, keeping the lights on) is at the forefront of electric utility business plans. Another important item that takes priority in these...
For more than a decade, thousands of users have deployed Permanent Electrical Safety Devices (PESDs) to reduce the risks in isolating electrical energy. This elegantly simple innovation increases the probability that workers are only exposed to ‘zero voltage’ when doing an absence of voltage...
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...
If you wanted to create a recipe for disaster, the beginning of the 2021 wildfire season would be a good place to start. Nearly 90% of the western U.S. is suffering through extreme drought. The snowpack set new low levels there as well. A record-breaking heatwave steamrolled the Pacific Northwest...
New York State's transition to a clean, zero-emissions energy grid could include up to 8.5 gigawatts (GW) of grid flexibility by 2040, according to a new report from the Brattle Group. This projection, while contingent on achieving ambitious decarbonization goals, illustrates how the state could...
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...
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...
Many occupations pose risks to workers, but few match the dangers that linemen face daily. Linemen play a critical role in maintaining and restoring the power grid, often working in extreme weather conditions, at significant heights, and around high-voltage electrical systems. Their work is...
A small town in North Carolina has filed a lawsuit against Duke Energy, one of the largest utility companies in the United States, alleging that the company has been deceptive in its efforts to downplay the environmental impact of its operations. The lawsuit, filed by the town of Smithfield, claims...
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...
