Tricked out substations

Utilities are taking advantage of advancements in technology to design and build substations with improved reliability, higher ratings, smaller footprints, increased automation and reduced requirements for maintenance labor. They are under a great deal of pressure from customers, regulators and stockholders to be more efficient and environmentally friendly. Read how technological advancements applied in the electrical substation are playing an important role in addressing and solving issues with congestion, reliability, cyber security, connecting variable renewable resources, the environment and economics.  >> Read more about substations

>>T&D World substations special supplement

AEP launches asset health center

Aging equipment is a long-term challenge for electric utilities. This will require focused and consistent efforts — along with innovative technology — to meet both current and coming challenges. Fortunately, technology now exists and is being implemented at American Electric Power (AEP) to enable an end-to-end asset health management system that manages the vast amounts of information utilities, like AEP, generate; analyzes it to provide actionable insights for managing assets across the grid; and shares knowledge in a meaningful way to maximize its value throughout the utility enterprise. >> Read how the end-of-life gauntlet prompted a new approach to predictive asset management.

>> I'd like to talk to someone about asset health

Transformer technology:  Not all 'grid giants' are created equal

Monitoring and sensing technologies for distribution and power transformers are improving the accuracy and precision of asset condition data from utility electric grids. This volume and variety of data is creating new opportunities for utilities to reduce the risk of transformer failures. The group of companies that GTM Research labels "grid giants" (ABB, Alstom Grid, GE, Siemens, and Schneider Electric) continue to deepen their investment in the transformer monitoring ecosystem, and each of these five players has a unique strategy and approach to the transformer monitoring market. >> Read more

>> I'd like to talk to someone about transformers

Tips for a successful spring outage

Though snow may still be falling, spring outage time is upon us. Learn the four steps to a successful spring outage. By following these simple steps, planning outages will be more efficient for everyone. >> Read more

>> I'd like to talk to someone about high voltage service

Where's the Big Data

It’s probably healthy to have a dose of skepticism around the growing trend of utilities investing in Big Data. After all, even 10 million of today’s smart-meters will take a decade to generate over a petabyte of data. Looked at objectively, the sheer volume of data generated by the smart grid is dwarfed by what financial and retail market players experience.  More about how other aspects of “Big Data” come in to play: velocity and variety. >> Read more

>> I'd like to talk to someone about smart grid