Electical Contractor

Recently, while serving on a panel session at the Power Quality and Reliability conference, a member of the audience chastised me for “not educating us on what this smart grid stuff is really all about.” It seemed like a reasonable challenge, especially given that I am a member of the Institute of

American Electric Power’s (AEP) 765-kilovolt (kV) joint transmission line proposal with Allegheny Energy Inc was approved by PJM Interconnection (PJM) of Norristown, Pa.

That design/build projects account for a growing percentage of major construction projects is a fact recognized by owners and managers of contracting companies. The Design-Build Institute of America estimates 40 percent of today’s construction projects take advantage of the design/build format.

Collins Electrical Construction Co in St Paul, Minnesota, has been serving the St Paul Winter Carnival since 2001; the 59-year-old company volunteers its people and electrical equipment to light up the ice maze, snow sculptures and the bulk of Harriet Island during St.

A number of factors are fueling a nationwide surge in healthcare facility construction and improvements, including updating aging facilities, changing workforce needs and growing consumer demands for specialty services.

It is not a new cabling and wiring installation technique, but it has certainly come of age. Zone cabling is a little like the old multiplexed circuits of the early high-end burglar alarm systems (think New York jewelry stores) with a much more modern twist.

Drive past hospitals at night and you are sure to see lights glowing in many windows. But as hospital mangers seek advanced lighting technology to reduce energy consumption, that glow is changing. Healthcare facilities want more from their lighting these days.

During the Northeast blackout in 2003, some facilities could not afford the loss of power. One was Salem Community Hospital in Salem, Ohio, which barely maintained its power using generators.

Natural disasters are big news. Television presents live images of the devastation and the faces and voices of the victims of hurricanes, forest fires, tornadoes and other catastrophes. Newspapers follow with detailed accounts of property damage, injuries and death tolls.