Electical Contractor

Much of the smart grid’s strength lies in its use of wireless technology to improve monitoring, information flow and efficiency. As powerful as that combination may be, a couple of California utilities have taken it to a new low. That is to say they have taken it underground.

On the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Gulf Coast residents watched as Category 1 Hurricane Isaac bore down on the New Orleans region, evoking memories of the costliest U.S. hurricane disaster on record. On Aug.

As U.S. utilities made projections for the summer months and predicted there would be enough capacity to meet demand with no outages, Mother Nature seemed to have other plans.

For the past 50 years, ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR has surveyed its readers every other year to get a snapshot of the industry and pinpoint emerging trends, opportunities and other changing dynamics.

As we transform into a high-tech, renewable-powered society, so must the grid we rely on to deliver our energy. Concurrent with those changes, the smart grid has emerged as the power delivery system for a new age.

In the long-running battle for the nation’s energy soul between green power and fossil fuels, victories are taken in measure. Despite their emergent success in recent years, renewables still have a long way to go to become the predominant power source.

The nation’s largest hydroelectric facility is about to get an upgrade. As its 75th anniversary approaches, aging transmission lines at Washington’s Grand Coulee Dam will be removed and replaced with safer, more reliable lines.

In the first quarter of next year, SAE International plans to establish a standard, integrated coupler that would allow electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles to be charged from either a conventional, 15-amp alternating current (AC) wall outlet or a direct current (DC) connector of

Infiniti Research Limited’s report, “Global Smart Energy Meter Market 2010–2014,” forecasts that market will reach $19.5 billion in 2014. Key factors contributing to market growth are initiatives from regulatory authorities and home area networking connectivity technology.