While condition monitoring is becoming an integral part of daily power grid operations, there’s a huge difference between simply checking on assets and truly proactive intervention. When a ‘check engine’ light goes on in a car, taking the directive literally and opening the hood to make sure the engine is intact doesn’t solve the problem. Someone needs to understand how the car works to take steps to prevent the engine from failing. The same principle applies...
Asset management evolves as microgrids play various roles BY MASSOUD AMIN, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Microgrids, as many readers are aware, are small power systems of several megawatts (MW) or less in scale that possess three primary characteristics: distributed...
Itron Inc, which makes technology to monitor energy and water usage, said it would buy Silver Spring Networks Inc., in a deal valued at about $830 million, to expand its presence in the smart city and smart grid markets. Silver Spring’s network equipment and services help transform power...
Recent technological and economic events are poised to transform the electric utility industry. Described as “game changers” by industry thought-leaders, these “disruptive challenges” stem from a convergence of factors. 1 Distributed energy resources (DER) and demand-side management (DSM)...
Optimizing power flow using a distribution model BY TIM TAYLOR, Ventyx Today’s emphasis on implementing energy efficiency programs and limiting peak demand growth has driven renewed interest in the most effective method to implement Smart Grid volt-ampere reactive control, or Smart Grid volt/VAR...
The power industry is undergoing a profound transformation driven by grid modernization, renewable integration, and increasing demands for resilience and efficiency. At the heart of this evolution lies the smart substation—a next-generation facility equipped with advanced sensors, digital...
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...
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has rejected a proposal from PJM Interconnection, one of the United States' largest regional transmission organizations, to alter its transmission planning protocol. The decision represents a significant victory for state regulators who had expressed...
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 significant move for the renewable energy landscape, RWE, a leading global energy company, has announced the addition of 450 megawatts (MW) of battery energy storage capacity in Texas. This expansion underscores the growing importance of energy storage solutions in enhancing grid reliability...
