Your Business

Posted Jan 2021

Inefficient Interconnection Processes Mean Missed Work for ECs and Line Workers

William Atkinson

According to a new report from Americans for a Clean Energy Grid, Arlington, Va., transmission line contractors and other electrical contractors are losing out on a lot of work due...

Posted Jan 2021

Construction Apps Increasing in Popularity

Katie Kuehner-Hebert

Perhaps not surprisingly, the COVID-19 pandemic has spurred the adoption of mobile apps on construction job sites, but integration and data sharing with other apps or other company software is...

Future Workforce

Posted Jan 2021

TAUC Union Craft Labor Supply Survey Now Underway

William Atkinson

The seventh annual Union Craft Labor Supply Survey done by The Association of Union Constructors (TAUC), Arlington, Va., is underway for 2021, and NECA is encouraging its members to participate...

Posted Jan 2021

The Status Is Not Quo: What the new year could mean for electric utilities

Chuck Ross

With this new year comes a new presidential administration with vastly different environmental and economic priorities. For electric utilities, this could result in a significant ratcheting up of environmental regulations...

Recent Stories

Jan 2021

Pro Tips: How Do You Plan?

First Place: Plan ahead Working with plans in the field today usually entails buying an expensive tablet device and trying to keep it clean and safe. The advantage is that users can blow up detailed areas to see them better...

Dec 2020

Growth Forecasted for the Global Smart Meter Market

Katie Kuehner-Hebert

The use of smart meters around the world is continuing to ramp up. By 2030, the global smart meters market should reach $20 billion in revenue, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 4.9% from $13.1 billion in 2019...

A man looks at a series of arrows pointing upwards

Dec 2020

FAA Releases Latest in Rules for Drones

William Atkinson

On Dec. 28, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released two rules related to the use of “unmanned aircraft,” commonly known as drones. Utilities are more frequently using drones for...

Drone

Dec 2020

Webinar: Take Your Electrical Estimating Workflows to the Cloud with Accubid Anywhere

On Dec. 8, 2020 at 2 p.m. EDT, Trimble MEP and ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR magazine hosted a free, 1-hour webinar covering cloud-based estimating software. Now available on-demand: The need for 24/7, remote access to estimates is...

Trimble webinar promo

Dec 2020

British Apprentices to Celebrate 50th Reunion

Colleen Beaty

More than 80 people began their careers as apprentice electricians with the East Midlands Electricity Board (EMEB) in September of 1971. 2021 marks 50 years since the 1971 class of apprentices—who would now be in their mid...

EMEB Wollaton Class of 1971

Dec 2020

University and Utility Team Up to Provide State National Guard with Mobile Microgrid

William Atkinson

Ames Electric Services, a municipal electric utility based in Ames, Iowa, has teamed up with Iowa State University, also located in Ames, to provide support for a mobile microgrid project sought by the Iowa Army National...

Illustration of 2 batteries, one red and one green

Dec 2020

November Is a Mixed Month for Construction Starts

William Atkinson

According to a report from Dodge Data & Analytics, Hamilton, N.J., total construction starts fell 2% in November 2020 to a seasonally-adjusted rate of $797.5 billion, following a strong gain in October. While nonbuilding...

Dec 2020

President Trump Signs Stimulus Bill Into Law

Holly Sauer

On Dec. 27, President Donald Trump signed H.R. 133, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, into law. This massive year-end package includes a coronavirus stimulus bill amounting to $900 billion in emergency relief funds...

U.S. Capitol Building

Dec 2020

Adoption of New Construction Tech on the Rise

Katie Kuehner-Hebert

Remote working, as well as social distancing on job sites, due to the pandemic has expedited adoption of some construction technologies such as digital collaboration platforms, virtual scanning tools and safety-focused...

Two hands holding a tablet showing a building model, with printed building plans in the background

Dec 2020

Homebuilder Confidence Begins to Wane

William Atkinson

According to a report from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), Washington, D.C., builder confidence, while still strong, is down from a record high in November. “Ending a string of three successive months of...

Blueprint of a typical two-story house

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