Tag Archives: energy and electricity

5 Questions to Ask About EPA’s Forthcoming Clean Power Plan

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This article was co-authored by Kristin Meek and was republished with permission from the World Resources Institute, a global research organization which seeks to create equity and prosperity through sustainable natural resource management.

Last June, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the first-ever standards to limit carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution from existing power plants, known as the Clean Power Plan. After an extended comment period during which the agency received more than 4 million comments, EPA is expected to finalize the plan this summer. By addressing the single-largest source of U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, this plan is one of the most important near-term tools the country can use to help reach its goal of reducing emissions 26-28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025.

Here are 5 key questions to keep in mind as we look forward to the final Clean Power Plan:

1) How much will

… Read more...

Edison Electric Institute, Elon Musk & the Future of Utilities

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Last week marked the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) annual convention, which was held this year in New Orleans and hosted 800 utility executives from June 7-10.

The 2015 convention was an unusual one. In the past, the electrical utility industry has not always been especially interested in discussing alternative forms of energy. This year’s event, however, promised to “showcase the ideas and innovations that are transforming the future of the electric power sector.” The convention delivered, kicking off the week with a discussion featuring Tesla founder Elon Musk. A bold choice, given recent global headlines that range from “Musk Battery Works Fill Utilities with Fear and Promise” (December 2014, Bloomberg) to “Elon Musk is Both Utility Killer and Utility Savior” (May 2015, Business Spectator). To say that the industry’s feelings are mixed might be an understatement.

The electric utility industry is a large market responsible for $372 … Read more...

3 Critical Challenges Facing the Growing Solar, Wind & Clean Tech Sector

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New figures from leading analyst firms are showing an increased investment in the global clean tech market in 2014, driven primarily by investments in solar and wind energy (which accounted for more than 90 per cent of 2014’s overall clean tech spend). According to the UNEP’s 9th “Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment” report, 2014 saw green energy investments worldwide jump about 17% to $270.2 billion. That’s an increased share of total world electricity generation from 8.5% in 2013 to 9.1% last year.

With Growth Comes Both Opportunities & Challenges

As the industry continues to experience growth as a result of these increasing investments, those companies in the clean tech business are facing many opportunities but also many challenges. Some of these challenges are unique to the sector, while others are shared across other emerging industries and growing companies. Here are three of the big hurdles that solar, wind … Read more...

Obama Administration Looks to Cut GHG, Tips for Preventing Eye Injuries and More!

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On this week’s edition of EHS This Week we’ve got the week’s top stories in environment, health and safety news:

  • Obama Administration Submits Plan to Cut Greenhouse Emissions
  • American Petroleum Institute Updates Standard to Improve Refinery Safety
  • Tips for Preventing Eye Injuries in the Workplace

Remember to write us with your suggestions, questions and comments. Also, if you are an industry expert and ever want to take part in the program, we’d love to have you. Until next week, enjoy the program!

EHS This Week Resources
For more information on the stories and resources mentioned in this week’s podcast, check out the links below.

  • Obama Administration’s Plan to Cut Greenhouse Gas. Click here
  • American Petroleum Institute Updates Refinery Safety Standard. Click here.
  • Preventing Eye Injuries in the Workplace. Click here
[audio: 2015/04/EHSTW-040315.mp3]… Read more...

Electric Utilities & Safety Culture in an Aging Workforce

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Electrical power-line installers and repairers regularly appear on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ list of the top ten most dangerous jobs. According to the Fallen Linemen Organization an average of 45 linemen a year lose their lives on the job in the U.S. alone. This is despite a workforce that is predominantly made up of seasoned professionals. But it looks like there may be a big shift in demographics in the near future – how this will affect safety in the industry remains to be seen.

Long-Time Utility Workers Nearing Retirement

West Penn Power stands as an excellent example of the challenge currently facing the electric utility industry. At West Penn – one of FirstEnergy’s Pennsylvania utilities – the median age of a line worker is 45. According to the company, in the next five years 30% of the utility’s distribution line workers will be eligible for retirement. And … Read more...

EPA Delays Emissions Rules as Energy Companies Prepare for a Tumultuous Year

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced last week that it will delay releasing the final rules for new power plants’ carbon dioxide emissions. The rules are now scheduled to be released sometime this summer.

The EPA’s 2015 Plan for the Carbon Emissions Rules
The rules for new power plants were expected to be released on January 8, 2015, but the EPA held a press conference on the 7th to announce that they would instead be releasing both sets of rules for new and existing power plants at the same time. “We believe it’s essential to consider these overlapping issues in a coordinated fashion,” said Janet McCabe, the EPA’s acting administrator for air quality.

The EPA will take this time to further review the feedback gathered during the comment period, having received more than 4 million public comments. McCabe also announced that the EPA will begin drafting a “model rule” … Read more...

Wildfires in Arizona take lives of 19 firefighters, NIOSH launches ladder safety app, US electricity prices highest on record for May, and more on EHS This Week

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On this week’s edition of EHS This Week we’ve got the week’s top stories in environment, health and safety news:

  • Wildfires in Arizona take lives of 19 firefighters.
  • NIOSH launches ladder safety app.
  • US electricity prices highest on record for May, and more.

Remember to write us with your suggestions, questions and comments. Also, if you are an industry expert and ever want to take part in the program, we’d love to have you.

Until next week, enjoy the program!

[audio: 2013/07/EHSTW-070513.mp3]… Read more...

Benefits of mobile on the rise for energy and utilities companies

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More and more, here in the Intelex Energy and Utilities team, we’re seeing a strong need for mobile access in all areas of the Energy-Utilities community. Energy is generated and delivered in a variety of ways throughout the world and reaches out far from centralized stations and hubs. Therefore, the need to have mobile access on a residential, commercial and/or corporate level is becoming much more of a ‘must-have’.  

Whether it’s through downloaded apps or web-based access, residential and commercial customers can quickly report an outage and check on restoration status or have at-a-glance visibility into outages within their communities.  They can easily access their account summary and history, make payments or submit a meter reading.  Utility companies themselves are able to relay information throughout the organization very quickly, 24 hours a day.

Outside of the direct impact on customers, these companies can leverage the right web-based mobile solutions … Read more...

Make sure you aren’t overlooking safety observations….

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In the world of Power Utilities, the idea of recordable incidents, corrective actions, refresher training, etc. often comes up. What is becoming more and more apparent with an increase in overall Safety Awareness is a move towards safety observations and exchanges.

Employees are now, more than ever, being encouraged to record an observation around safety to be more proactive and prevent future incidents from taking place. Always looking for and recognizing potential hazards doesn’t mean there’s a need for more training or a “process” to be launched, it can just be something for other employees should be made aware of; either by recording it in a system or just a discussion over the water cooler or during a monthly evaluation with management.

Safety exchanges are shared at the start of meetings, or again during employee evaluations to further promote safety awareness company-wide. As a result of this proactive behavior, we’re … Read more...