News Highlights from the Electric Power Industry
Here are some industry news and information articles from around the web, just for you.
ARCOS launches free portal for utilities and contractors to easily share crew rosters
ARCOS LLC has launched Resource Assist Lite™ for ARCOS utility customers and contractors to break through resource-management bottlenecks and safely speed up service restoration by efficiently sharing crews and equipment at the time and place of need.
Resource Assist Lite overcomes the challenge of efficiently uploading and sharing crew rosters, so utility managers can plan for and secure the right number of FTEs for restoring service in the wake of any event, regardless of size. The portal – an easy-to-use and free, scaled-down version of ARCOS Resource Assist™ – supports utility mutual assistance, the Dispatch coordinator scrolls crew rosters, while scanning outage management systemARCOSresource planning work of Regional Mutual Assistance Groups (RMAG) and RAMP-UP, a tool for utilities to simultaneously request resources. >> Read more
EGSA, ESA bringing strong on-site power, energy storage ties to POWERGEN 2020
POWERGEN International is strengthening bonds with the on-site power and energy storage industries, both of which will play crucial roles in the future of power generation.
POWERGEN has renewed its agreement with the Electrical Generating Systems Association for the event happening December 8-10 in Orlando, Florida. EGSA is made up of more than 750 companies dedicated to on-site power generation such as gen-sets, microgrids and emergency backup power.
POWERGEN also has announced a strategic partnership with the U.S Energy Storage Association (ESA) focused on education around battery and other forms of energy storage. >> Read more
Energy Storage—A Trillion-Dollar Holy Grail
LCOE measures the average cost of electricity generation for any power plant—coal, hydro, solar, or thermal—over its lifetime. And it turns out that by the time you harvest the Earth’s minerals to produce, ship, deploy, and maintain a renewable energy plant, it is more expensive to generate power versus burning coal. And that’s too bad because we’re all paying the price.
According to BP’s 2019 Statistical Review of World Energy, annual carbon emissions grew by 2.0%, with China and the U.S. as the largest contributors, and coal took the largest share of all power generation at 38%. No matter where you stand in the debate on climate change, let’s just agree that pollution is bad and coal means a lot of it. >> Read more
Grid operators cancel travel, shift to remote meetings, as industry preps for broad coronavirus absenteeism
Independent System Operators (ISO) and Regional Transmission Organizations (RTO) responsible for operating the nation’s electric grid are working to limit the spread of the coronavirus, as EEI signaled companies need to prepare to continue delivering electricity with a smaller workforce.
“It is predicted that a large percentage of a company’s employees … could be out sick, quarantined, or might stay home to care for sick family members,” EEI warned. >> Read more
Duke, AEP, Dominion among utilities to halt service shutoffs in coronavirus response
President Donald Trump on Friday declared the spread of COVID-19 a national emergency, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended an eight week halt to events of more than 50 people. Governors in some states have closed bars and restaurants, in an attempt to limit the spread. And public schools across the country are closing for weeks.
Amid the United States’ heightened response to the spread of coronavirus, a growing number of utilities are halting service disconnections and taking other steps, including waiving late fees, shutting down payment centers and setting up flexible payment plans. >> Read more
Be Prepared. Think Safety.
