The 12 Blog Posts of 2014!

Selected 2015 Utility Conferences & Trade Shows

9 Key Facts from the “Large Power Transformers and the U.S. Electric Grid” Study

Debunking 5 myths of Purchasing Reconditioned Electrical Assets – Infographic

Determine the best disposition solution for your surplus assets – Infographic

Investment Recovery: the Missing Link in the Supply Chain

The Transformer Problem

Why Using Speadsheets is a Risk for Your Supply Chain

Veracity Is Part of the CDMN’s Outbound Soft Landing Program

Decommissioning Projects: Why It Costs So Much And Takes So Much Time

Article Highlight: Sustainability, Investment Recovery and Supply Chain

Critical Spares Infographic

Veracity Asset Management Group Announces the Introduction of Veracity Connect

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Learn more about our Mutual Aid & Critical Spares Management Solution for Utilities: Make electrical equipment procurement easy and efficient. Locate a matching power transformer before a failure occurs!

Stay updated through our social media platforms and our website:

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Utilities News Roundup! November – December

Nuclear

Panel hears bids for storage of nuclear waste http://ow.ly/DoyRO “Southern California Edison’s Community Engagement Panel met on Oct. 14 to hear bids from the two final companies vying to create storage for nuclear waste at the decommissioned San Onofre Power Plant.” #power

Entergy: $1.24B Is Needed to Decommission Vermont Yankee Nuclear http://ow.ly/Dqile #nucleardecommission

End Of Life Costs For #Nuclear Power A Real Concern http://ow.ly/Et9EM 200 nuclear reactors have to be shut down by 2040: who will lead the #decommissioning projects… and how much will be the bill? #power

Utilities

Georgia Power named IOU of the Year for innovation, industry collaboration and leadership in the solar energy http://ow.ly/DpSIs #IOU #utility

Hydro One Invests to Refurbish Ontario Michigan Interconnection Transmission Circuit http://ow.ly/Dq9Bm “The $6.8 million investment refurbished 24 towers on the 5.5-km circuit that runs from Sarnia Scott TS to the Mid River Junction Bunce Creek at the St. Clair River.” #powertransmission

Massachusetts Tops California as Most Energy-Efficient State http://ow.ly/DpWRm #Massachusetts #energy #utilities

LG&E, Kentucky Utilities to add up to 737MW of gas generation http://ow.ly/Dq36g #Kentucky #gasplant

Old Is New Again in the Utility Industry http://ow.ly/DKPto #utility #power

Infographic: The World’s Ten Largest Power Plants http://ow.ly/DL2gx “with the top 5 located in China and South America.” #powerplant #China

NERC troubled about EPA Clean Power Plan impact on grid reliability http://ow.ly/E4p0E “The NERC assessment, Potential Reliability Impacts of EPA’s Proposed Clean Power Plan, provides recommendations for further analyses to ensure continued system reliability.” #grid #utilities

AES to provide 1,284 MW of gas power to replace San Onofre http://ow.ly/E4qTs “AES has been awarded 20-year contracts by Southern California Edison (SCE) to provide 1,284 MW of combined cycle gas-fired generation” #gaspower

Alstom delivers demand response system to Con Edison http://ow.ly/E8qyK “The product is based on Alstom’s e-terra DRBizNet 3.0​, and provides utilities the ability to compensate energy flow and optimize existing assets.” #utilities

Awards for failure-free operation of EB transformers http://ow.ly/E8sQ0 “Over the past five years, transformer failures have come down to 6.25 per cent from 13 per cent in the Tiruchi region which has over 40,000 transformers” #utilities #powertransformers

Northern Michigan is facing a power crisis. How will it be fixed? http://ow.ly/E8z6L #Michigan #powergeneration

BC Hydro, LNG Canada sign #power deal; project still not official http://ow.ly/ESoMa “The deal […] comes as the Liberal government announced the power rates for LNG proponents.”

#Keystone XL price tag hits US$8B amid regulatory stalling http://ow.ly/ESfLD #Albertaoilsands

FERC issues decision on Duke-Progress merger…after three years http://ow.ly/ESt1X #power

Opower, FirstFuel partnership yields ‘major expansion’ with #utility customer http://ow.ly/Et5n5 The partnership allies data #analytics and utility software systems.

FERC Issues Order Authorizing the Disposition of Facilities Re Portland General Electric Company Under EC14-147 http://ow.ly/EtBTL “The Boardman Project includes a 642.2 MW coal-fired generating facility, interconnection facilities to the Slatt Substation and a line used to deliver station power to the generating facility that runs from PacifiCorp’s 230 kV Dalreed Substation” #substation

Here’s what to expect for #utility rates in 2015 http://ow.ly/EtIA2 average increase of 1.9 %

 

International

Coal gets cold shoulder from Denmark and Germany http://ow.ly/DK9kV “Denmark and Germany have outlined plans to decrease or potentially eliminate coal plants as part of a push to meet climate goals. ” #coal #denmark #germany

Abengoa to develop in Belgium the largest #biomass power plant in the world http://ow.ly/E8wVo Capacity of 215 MW, €315M

#Oman Enhances #Power Delivery http://ow.ly/ESPHZ 6 new substations will be commissioned to answer electric demand

Dhaka, Moscow finalise action plan for Rooppur #nuclear power plant http://ow.ly/EtHlN #Russia

Traces of #Fukushima Radiation Detected Off #California Coast http://ow.ly/EuqzU A priori no harm

Duke Energy announces plans to begin removing #coal ash from four North Carolina sites http://ow.ly/EuCoq ““The initial work at these facilities will help us assess various approaches for the closure plans at our remaining 10 North Carolina facilities,” said Elnitsky.”

Physical & Cyber Security, Extreme Weather Events

Critical infrastructure sees upgrades since Sandy devastation http://ow.ly/DoLvU States and utilities have improved flood protection, more resistant residential, public services infrastructures and the power grid. #superstorm

Beyond NERC: best practices for worst-case scenarios http://ow.ly/CcjdB “Plan for recovery as well as prevention.” This is why we offer utilities Veracity Connect, a platform to source critical spares, like transformers, in North America #NERC #reliability #criticalasset

Winter utility assistance plans available http://ow.ly/DK3B9 “With the onset of colder weather in Northeast Ohio, several programs are offering financial assistance to customers who may have difficulty keeping up with the costs of their utilities.”  #utilities

Remember Sandy: Two-Year Anniversary http://ow.ly/DKW78 “Hurricane Sandy affected 24 states, including the entire eastern seaboard from Florida to Maine and west across the Appalachian Mountains to Michigan and Wisconsin, with particularly severe damage in New Jersey and New York.” #superstorm #hurricane #utilities

Municipally-owned CPS Energy putting San Antonio on the forefront of smart cities http://ow.ly/E8myQ “The grid of the future will be more than a one-way delivery system for electricity. It will be a platform for information and services that we’ve barely begun to imagine,” said Doyle Beneby, CEO of CPS Energy. #smartcity

#Cyber-attack causes major breach of software controlling critical U.S. infrastructure http://ow.ly/E8tIG The malware [BlackEnergy], although not yet live, can activate anytime and leave these processes susceptible to failure or malfunctioning.

How four U.S. #utilities are tackling big data http://ow.ly/ERh8D Utilities are well decided to start diving into big data. What will be the outcome? #bigdata

U.S. Orders Electric Utilities to Secure Sites From Attack http://ow.ly/ERay7 Physical #security is becoming a major concern for utilities and industry partners.

Storm Hardening the Grid http://ow.ly/E8jhM Are you ready for the coming #storms? We can help you with mutual aid agreements http://ow.ly/E8juF #utilities #mutualaid

In Orleans, no #storm but responders active http://ow.ly/ERxlS Maximize your mutual aid agreements with Veracity Connect http://ow.ly/ERxHq #mutualaid

Weather Forecasts North America 2015 http://ow.ly/ESRxQ Temperatures above normal…which means more snow than usual! Turn your mutual aid agreement on with Veracity http://ow.ly/EucON #mutualaid

Renewables & Smart Grid

FERC: Renewables account for 40% of capacity additions this year http://ow.ly/DtaYY “According to FERC, there are 62.3 GW of installed wind and another 9.74 GW of solar, but those make up less than 6% of total capacity. The bulk, some 42% of the total, is still gas-fired.” #renewable #utilities

New Renewables Will Require #Transmission Upgrades http://ow.ly/DpMzS “is it that simple?”

Georgia is the nation’s fastest growing #solar market http://ow.ly/ERMAn “Solar-related jobs in the state grew 225% last year”

Are #Microgrids a Myth? http://ow.ly/ESOoF Should utilities promote distributed energy resources?

New analysis: U.S. is world’s number one #wind energy producer, leading China and Germany http://ow.ly/ExvpS “Over $120 billion worth of U.S. wind projects have been installed since the year 2000.”

Smart Grid Networking, Communications Technologies Spending Expected to Total $30 Billion over Next 10 Years http://ow.ly/advanced

 

Company News

Veracity is now a proud Silver Associate Member of the NRECA! Cooperatives are essential to the U.S. electric grid. We help coops source critical spares through the power of collaboration: http://ow.ly/Dx7Hp +NRECA #coops #electricgrid

We are proud of being an associate member of the Michigan Municipal Electric Association! veracityamg.com #electricity #collaboration

As a municipal utility or coop, become a Veracity Connect Member to source critical spares http://ow.ly/i/7nB9u http://ow.ly/DtMxC

We wouldn’t have been able to go to Georgia without the help of the #softlanding14 Program. Thanks to @CDMN for helping us #GrowGlobal

 

Recovering value from plant decommissioning? http://ow.ly/xjC1d #decomissioning #powerplant #utilities #energy http://ow.ly/i/79MkB

Decommissioning Projects – Why it takes so long & costs so much: http://wp.me/p2EjZw-7I Share it & share your expertise!

Join the Investment Recovery Canada group and find opportunities for your Canadian company: http://ow.ly/zymGu http://ow.ly/i/7nCOH

Turning your surplus equipment into a financial reward: this is called investment recovery: http://ow.ly/yzrN7 http://ow.ly/i/641yF

Aging grid assets? How to know which equipment to replace and when http://ow.ly/D3B4M Get some help from Veracity Connect: http://ow.ly/D3C2m

#Asset Redeployment Checklist http://wp.me/p2EjZw-8S We assist you in choosing the best option for idle #equipment http://ow.ly/EVCgb

 

Renewable or not, the energy you provide requires an emergency plan if a transformer fails: http://ow.ly/BZJ7k http://ow.ly/i/7nBT6

We know what you go through as a utility company when you look for a spare transformer – Veracity Connect http://ow.ly/BZJ7k #utilities #power http://ow.ly/i/7nByl

Looking for #power transformers? Veracity Connect helps you get in touch with other #utilities, OEM & resellers http://ow.ly/DOC9S

Don’t be left in the dark when a transformer failure occurs – Veracity Connect http://ow.ly/BZJ7k http://ow.ly/i/

Binder, spreadsheet, buddy system… you deserve better to source critical spares for your utility company. Contact us & Try Veracity Connect: http://ow.ly/BonlR

Our surplus utility equipment catalogue is now available! http://ow.ly/DLcVN Check it regularly and contact us if you are interested in some of the featured items! #utility #surplus #powertransformer

 

A cloud platform that helps you source critical spares and reinforce your mutual aid agreement? It exists: Veracity Connect http://ow.ly/Aua0t LinkedIn: http://ow.ly/AuacD

Transformer Fleet, Mutual Aid & Asset Disposition are components of Veracity Connect: http://ow.ly/ET0a7 http://ow.ly/i/7Invt

Are you a #utility? Have instant access to mutual aid contacts & resources with Veracity Connect http://ow.ly/ExDtr

 

Join us on LinkedIn page http://ow.ly/ET5kW We help #utilities source critical spares & maximize mutual aid http://ow.ly/ET5kX

Why Using Spreadsheets is a Risk for Your Supply Chain http://wp.me/p2EjZw-76 #spreadsheet #supplychain http://ow.ly/i/7jbDs

Subscribe to our Veracity’s monthly newsletter: Critical Spares Management & Investment Recovery for Utilities http://eepurl.com/LVtY1 http://ow.ly/i/73Jj2

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 Learn more about our Critical Spares Management Solution for Utilities: Make electrical equipment procurement easy and efficient. Locate a matching power transformer before a failure occurs!

Stay updated through our social media platforms and our website:

Asset Redeployment

Some of your assets are sitting in your warehouse, costing you more than what you think (ask your accountant!). Getting rid of it is a solution, redeploying the equipment to another company branch is an alternative to consider first.

The following checklist can help you ensure an effective redeployment:

Go further

Collaborative economy and idle asset management: an environmental and financial reward

Investment Recovery: the Missing Link in the Supply Chain

Debunking 5 myths of Purchasing Reconditioned Electrical Assets – Infographic

Determine the best disposition solution for your surplus assets – Infographic

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 Learn more about our Critical Spares Management Solution for Utilities: Make electrical equipment procurement easy and efficient. Locate a matching power transformer before a failure occurs!

Stay updated through our social media platforms and website:

Decommissioning Projects: Why It Costs So Much

If you like being up to date in terms of news in the energy sector, or if you live close to a power plant, you must have heard the word “decommissioning” more than once.

Definition

Decommissioning is the administrative and technical process to remove something from an active status (Wikipedia). Applied to industrial facilities, it means disabling and dismantling any active industrial units until no hazardous material or danger remain.

Decommissioning commonly concerns power plants, especially nuclear, pipelines, offshore rigs, tanker ships, military aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines. Nuclear decommissioning is the “process whereby a nuclear power plant site is dismantled to the point that it no longer requires measures for radiation protection” (Wikipedia). A more detailed definition can be found on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission website.

Regulation compliance

Decommissioning projects are submitted to strict regulations and standards, such as:

• U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ; Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
• U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (offshore oil and gas facilities) ; Ocean Conservation Measures
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Fisheries and Oceans Canada
• U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Pipeline Safety; Canada Energy Pipeline Association

Decommission Steps

These steps are based on a typical offshore rig decommission, but the general process can be applied to power plants, ships and submarines.

1. Project management: review of contractual obligations, engineering analysis, operational planning, contracting.
2. Engineering and planning.
3. Permitting and regulatory compliance: consulting firms can assist in obtaining required licenses and permits.
4. Facilities preparation: flushing and cleaning tanks and pipes, getting metal units ready to be lifted.
5. Disabling industrial units.
6. Equipment removal.
7. Materials disposal and site clearance: these two final steps require pre-decommissioning and post decommissioning surveys, identification of debris which could interfere with dismantling operations, and test trawling to ensure that the area is free of debris and ready.
8. Site release.

Nuclear Plant Decommissioning

For nuclear plants, three methods are available:

• Reactor dismantling and decontamination, allowing the land to be used again;
• Safe storage: the plant is monitored and taken down once radiation has decayed;
• Entombment: a coffin or dome made of concrete and steel is set on the radioactive components. The Tchernobyl nuclear plant is a typical example of entombment. The land can be used once radiation has decayed, which can take decades depending on the level of radiation.

Time frame

Projects require several years, from assessing the need to decommission a power plant to dismantling the last industrial unit. For nuclear plants, it can take up to 60 years in case of safe storage or unlimited time if the site cannot be decontaminated.

Why decommissioning?

The main reason is financial. It is sometimes not worth economically to upgrade power plants, offshore oil platforms, tankers and nuclear submarines. Alternative technologies exist and may prevail over updating current facilities.

Safety will also lead companies and governments to close facilities. For nuclear plants, government commissions assign operation licenses for an average period of 40 years. Nevertheless it is common to extend the plant’s life to 60 years or more. Safety is a key reason, but is sometimes put aside for economic reasons.

What happens to removed equipment?

• Working units are redeployed or sold as is, where is.
• Metals are scrapped and recycled.
• Hazardous substances are sent to specialized processing facilities to be reclaimed or decontaminated.

To learn more about disposition options, read our blog post about the 7 Ways To Dispose of Your Surplus Assets.

 How much does it cost?

Even though the operating company is required to set aside funds throughout the plant’s or industrial facilities’ operating lifetime, it is common to see costs increase step after step. The decommissioning cost sometimes exceeds the cost of the plant when it was purchased. The spent fuel –nuclear waste – is sent to specialized waste disposal facilities and buried underground. No methodology has been found to process such hazardous waste yet.

Veracity can assist your utility or industrial company retrieve value from idle or decommissioned equipment. We can help you implement a tailored investment recovery program which will free up money for your bottom line. According to the Investment Recovery Association, $1 put in the investment recovery brings at least $20 dollars back to the bottom line. This is no magic, but a combination of a dedicated and skilled team and an effective network.

We assist you in:

• Setting/improving Policies and Procedures to manage the end of life cycle of corporate assets. This starts with a well-defined policy, asset release form and follows key procedures to maximize the asset disposition process with full audit trail that provides risk mitigation to avoid environmental liabilities.
• Sending feet on the ground inventory teams that can efficiently capture asset data and catalog the assets to provide internal corporate wide visibility of available surplus.
• Sending the surplus back to the market through our network with the purpose of maximizing the value you recover.
• Developing scrap management protocols to maximize return on scrap as well as reduce corporate exposure to environmental liabilities.

Contact us at 866-694-1252 or info@veracityamg.com. We are located in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, with solutions available for the North American market. Visit our website at http://www.veracityamg.com

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Go further

Current Decommissioning Projects:

Exelon: Company dismantling Zion nuclear plant is running out of money

Entergy: $1.24B Is Needed to Decommission Vermont Yankee Nuclear

Letters: Good luck to Leshinskie on decommissioning of Vermont Yankee

San Onofre nuclear power plant dismantling will cost $4.4 billion, take 20 years

Chance for one last tour of Spondon’s Celanese factory before it is bulldozed

For offshore oil and gas decommissioning UK projects, you can check the Decommissioning Projects Index

Decommissioning a Nuclear Plant Can Cost $1 Billion and Take Decades

How Fukushima nuclear plant will be dismantled

Oil & Gas UK Decommissioning Insight 2013

Closing and Decommissioning Nuclear Power Reactors (2012)

 

Sources

Nuclear Decommissioning by Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_decommissioning

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – http://www.epa.gov/

Students’ Corner – Decommissioning, by theU.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission – http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/basic-ref/students/decommissioning.html

How Does Decommissioning Work? by Rigzone – http://www.rigzone.com/training/insight.asp?i_id=354

Decommissioning Nuclear Power Plants, by the Nuclear Energy Institute – http://www.nei.org/master-document-folder/backgrounders/fact-sheets/decommissioning-nuclear-energy-facilities

Staff Responses Frequently Asked Questions Concerning Decommissioning of Nuclear Power Reactors – http://www.eu-decom.be/faqs/faqs2.htm#_1_27

 

Learn more about our Critical Spares Management Solution for Utilities: Make electrical equipment procurement easy and efficient. Locate a matching power transformer before a failure occurs!

Stay updated through our social media platforms and our website:

October Digest

We hope you enjoyed a great Halloween weekend! October is already gone, but let’s take time to review the news and blog posts from this past month.

Blog Posts

Veracity Is Part of the CDMN’s Outbound Soft Landing Program http://wp.me/p2EjZw-6p

Transformers: An Essential Link of the Electrical Grid http://wp.me/p2EjZw-6C

Energy & Utility Events Update http://wp.me/p2EjZw-6T

Why Using Spreadsheets is a Risk for Your Supply Chain http://wp.me/p2EjZw-76

Your Veracity Connect Newsletter – Volume 6 http://wp.me/p2EjZw-7g

Equipment Criticality http://wp.me/p2EjZw-7w

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 News

North America

PG&E and Florida Power & Light Sign Unique Cross-Continent Mutual Aid Agreement http://ow.ly/CK22y “To help ensure that extra resources are available to repair damage and restore service safely and more quickly following a widespread emergency, PG&E and FPL recently signed their first mutual aid agreement with another electric utility on the opposite side of the country.”

“Transforming the Grid: Top 5 States for Transmission Projects in 2015” by energyacuity http://ow.ly/CJDtu

Duke Energy set to auction off a million items from shuttered Crystal River nuclear plant http://ow.ly/BRFc1 “Need a giant heat exchanger that looks like giant pipes aboard a Navy ship — large enough for a grown man to crawl through?”

Up or down? The impact of EPA’s Clean Power Plan on electric rates http://ow.ly/BRRgW

T&D World compiled some of the best “Electricity Hoaxes, Rumors and Scams” http://ow.ly/BSjN0

SaskPower to cut ribbon on Boundary Dam carbon capture project http://ow.ly/C4AHQ “Billed by SaskPower as the world’s first and largest commercial-scale carbon capture operation of its kind, the project outfits part of the coal-fired power station with a mechanism to capture carbon dioxide emissions and transport the gas through a steel pipeline into storage deep underground.”

National Grid customers to see 37% higher rates this winter http://ow.ly/C4plz “the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) approved a rate increase for National Grid that will raise household customers’ bills by an average of $33.”

FERC, NERC Initiate Review of Electric Industry Recovery and Restoration Plans http://ow.ly/CcwcN “The objective of the review is to support registered entities in ensuring reliable restoration of the bulk power system following a reliability event.” Veracity Connect can help source spare transformers quicker and for a better price: http://ow.ly/Ccwnw

Are key NERC initiatives the missing link to reliability and cybersecurity? http://ow.ly/CSyzt “NERC currently has two major initiatives under way in the reliability standards and enforcement areas to which electric industry participants should pay particular attention.”

Nuclear Matters warns about premature plant closings http://ow.ly/CkRXn “The analysis reminds us of the very real impact that premature nuclear shutdowns can have” noted Nuclear Matters’ co-chair former Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH).”

Nuclear operators seek to extend life of reactors to 80 years http://ow.ly/D6zgH

RG&E Receives $2.8 Million from Federal Grant Program for Improvements at Hydroelectric Generating Station http://ow.ly/CJTG0

Brookfield Renewable Power’s (Canada) CHP decommissioning http://ow.ly/D3mtZ “We’re hopeful that commercial considerations will improve and allow us to restart operations at some future point, but we do not have any such plans at this time.”

Worldwide

Siemens delivers switch panels worth €90m for GIS in Saudi Arabia http://ow.ly/BOTLU “Siemens is to deliver 111 switch panels for installation in five gas-insulated high-voltage switchgear in Saudi Arabia’s northern Al-Jouf region. The order is worth €90 million.”

The essential next step for distributed energy (a transparent market that includes end users) http://ow.ly/C7Fpq “Distributed Energy Resources, or DER, is a trend to watch. DER adoption across the country, and in hot spots like California and the North East in particular, is growing.”

New report on rising coal plant retirements http://ow.ly/C7LkH “approximately 13 percent of coal-fueled generating capacity has either been retired since 2012 or is planned for retirement by 2025, which surpasses the previous estimates in 2012.”

200 transformers distributed through southwest Nigeria where electricity supply is inadequatehttp://ow.ly/C7PmC

Exelon to add 2,000 megawatts of natural gas generation http://ow.ly/CaSJD

ABB takes $30M Bangladesh power grid job http://ow.ly/Cltmn “the country’s leading transmission utility, to provide four new turnkey substations and help expand six others, to help meet the growing demand for electricity.” http://ow.ly/i/7866j

ABB: India a “dynamic market“ for power systems http://ow.ly/CowDV ““India is among the largest single markets for power systems,” global head of ABB’s power systems division, Claudio Facchin, said in an interview with Business Standard.”

ABB shifting attention from China to Middle East http://ow.ly/D6omX

‘Go ahead’ for £16 billion nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset http://ow.ly/CSLi3 “The environmental group’s legal adviser Andrea Carta said: “This is a world record sell-out to the nuclear industry at the expense of taxpayers and the environment.”

Miscellaneous

Power-Gen Conference, Dec 9-11, 2014 – Orlando, FL – http://ow.ly/CJsku Will you go?

How Technology Can Enable Decentralised Procurement http://ow.ly/C7NRl “We now have the ability to monitor spend, reach out to suppliers globally through online RFP and manage supplier relationships through technology. Therefore, the theory goes, procurement activity can continue to be devolved while the information remains central.”

Utilities Executive Forum and Roundtable: November 18-20, 2014 http://ow.ly/CsBjI

Transmission & Distribution World October Issue! http://ow.ly/ClwRd

Hazardous Homes: The New Serious Game from the Electrical Safety Authority: http://ow.ly/CSNKg

Here’s Why You Should Consider Buying Enterprise Applications from a Start-up http://ow.ly/D3ySj Startups offer “easy-to-use technology with relatively simple but powerful integration options.” Ours is Veracity Connect: http://ow.ly/D3zfK

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Company News

We are proud of being the new associate member of the Michigan Municipal Electric Association! http://www.mmeanet.org Learn more about us: www.veracityamg.com

Use the Cloud to Efficiently Source Critical Spares – Veracity Connect http://ow.ly/BZJ7k

Revolutionizing the way Rural Electric Cooperatives approach Critical Spares Management: http://ow.ly/C4o3D http://ow.ly/i/72OXJ

What we do for our Clients: Investment Recovery & Critical Spares Management http://ow.ly/yliRM http://ow.ly/i/733e

Google+ is more than a SEO tool. This is an easy way to stay in touch with our company: http://ow.ly/C7Np2

Beyond NERC: best practices for worst-case scenarios http://ow.ly/Ccuuw Plan for recovery as well as prevention

Recovering value from a plant decommissioning? Learn more about one of the projects we carried out for one of our clients: http://ow.ly/xjC1d. Decommissioning can also be a rewarding process in the frame of an effective surplus asset management program. http://ow.ly/i/79McR

Are you a Utility company? Leverage a pool of Critical Spares through the Power of Collaboration – Veracity Connect http://ow.ly/BZJ7k

Did you know that 2% to 5% of a company’s entire assets are considered as idle or surplus? http://ow.ly/CsJMX

Utilities, are you ready for the worst? Source critical spare equipment via Veracity Connect! http://ow.ly/i/7pT4C http://ow.ly/DCAkQ

Revolutionizing the way Rural Electric Cooperatives approach Critical Spares Management: http://ow.ly/CVA9U http://ow.ly/i/7g3lg

Transformer leaking PCB for 7 yrs http://ow.ly/Au6W4 utilities we can help you properly dispose of idle equipment http://ow.ly/Au7tr

Aging grid assets? How to know which equipment to replace and when http://ow.ly/D3B4M Get some help from Veracity Connect: http://ow.ly/D3C2m

Does it take too long to source critical spares like transformers? We can help you – Veracity Connect http://ow.ly/CVmDZ

We specialize in critical spares management and asset disposition. We help companies such as utilities on a daily basis to source or dispose of critical equipment.

Contact us at 866-694-1252 or info@veracityamg.com. We are located in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, with solutions available for the North American market.

Learn more about our Critical Spares Management Solution for Utilities: Make electrical equipment procurement easy and efficient. Locate a matching power transformer before a failure occurs!

Stay updated through our social media platforms and our website:

Investment Recovery: the Missing Link in the Supply Chain

Investment Recovery (IR), also called Surplus Asset Management, is defined as the practice of recovering the highest value of assets considered as surplus or no longer supporting the company’s operations. IR is does not appear in Michael Porter’ s Value Chain model, as this analysis focuses on one-way activities, from procurement and inbound logistics to the sales and service activities. For a reminder, Michael Porter, Harvard Business School Professor, identified in  model the activities that create value for the company. These activities are categorized in primary activities and support activities in Porter’s model:

IR professionals consider their activity as the missing link of this value chain model by recovering the value of unused assets.

Through its primary and support activities, a company will buy assets, such as industrial equipment, fleet vehicles and other materials, with the ultimate goal to maintain and/or increase its margin. The procurement manager plays a key role in acquiring these items at the best rate and quality.

At a certain time, the company will change its equipment, fleet or other critical assets. We often forget what happens to this piece equipment no longer in use. The first reflex will be to either park it in the warehouse (high holding costs!), or if it is considered as obsolete, in the laydown yard, or worse, in the landfills. The company may not be aware of the intrinsic value of these idle assets.

IR professionals aim at recovering this hidden value that these assets represent. The support activity of procurement can be actually turned into a complementary financial stream for the company. The return can be surprisingly high. The last studies from Center for Advanced Purchasing Studies or Arizona University show that $1 spent in the investment recovery process at least brings $20 back to the bottom line, in terms of cost avoidance, cost reduction, employee productivity and proceeds of sales.

Surplus Asset Managers bring to their clients transparency and legibility of surplus assets through efficient practices. After identifying and evaluating the assets, the IR professionals and the company will choose the best option for each of them, with a clear audit trail.

These options are:

• Redeploying the asset to another branch of the company, avoiding the cost of purchasing a new unit;
• Marketing and selling it;
• Scrapping it;
• Donate it;
• And if any of these disposition methodologies cannot be applied, the asset is sent to a waste management company with the priority of preventing negative environmental impacts.

Learn more about these methodologies options: 7 Ways to Dispose of Your Surplus Equipment

A company that has a solid IR program will distinguish itself from its competitors, as the costs are better controlled, revenues from idle assets are maximized and environmental and corporate exposure risks are mitigated.

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Value Chain Model from http://www.partnerscreatingwealth.com

Collaborative Economy & Asset Management: an Environmental and Financial Reward

In the article “Zero Marginal Cost Society: Unlocking Wealth & Cities Too, But Beware the Regulatory Wrinkles”*, April Rinne, Chief Strategy Officer at Collaborative Lab, explains what collaborative economy is, a philosophy shared by Veracity Asset Management Group.

What is “Collaborative Economy”?

Collaborative economy is clearly not just a trend. New business models “promote more efficient utilization of resources”. Reducing purchasing costs in the supply chain is what every business is looking for. Sustainability and environmental risks are becoming a key factor that influences business decisions. But how can we reconcile bottom line and reduced impact on the environment?

Among several opportunities, such as crowd-funded projects and car-sharing, managing idle assets is a rewarding way for companies and public organizations to give a new life to idle equipment and material, and turn them into a new financial stream. Cost reduction and cost avoidance become easily possible, as it costs less to buy a piece of equipment, used, but in good shape and reliable, than to buy a brand new unit for a high price.

Surplus Asset Management

This is why we can link the “collaborative economy” concept with Veracity’s business core: surplus asset management and critical spares management. A key principle of surplus asset management, or “investment recovery”, is the 7 R’s: Reuse, Recondition, Return, Re-sell, Reclaim, Recycle and Remove. The same way we go through our garage and decide to reuse, sell, give or recycle our old DVD players or skates, managing idle assets is relatively similar for a private company or a municipality.

In the frame of an Investment Recovery program, our Veracity Team can help your company successfully identify, evaluate and choose the right disposition solution for each asset. Let’s say that you have surplus equipment in your warehouse. The holding costs are high and you look for a complementary financial stream. Veracity helps connect the dots, analyze and offer the best options for each idle asset. It can be redeployed to another company branch that needs them, avoiding the cost of buying a new unit. Or it can be sold in an efficient manner to maximize your return, or recycled, avoiding ending up in the landfills.

Think about your idle assets and their hidden value. Contact us at +1-866-694-1252 or info@veracityamg.com, and find out how we can help you unlock their true potential!

Also check our website http://www.veracityamg.com for more information about our investment recovery services!

* http://www.huffingtonpost.com/april-rinne/the-zero-marginal-cost-so_b_5154872.html?utm_hp_ref=business&ir=Business

Key Points From The Latest Issue of Asset 2.0, “The Investment Recovery Business Journal”

• Like any other business, creating an investment recovery (IR) department requires a solid business plan. Day-to-day operations may work for sometimes, but in the long-run, everything may fall apart if nothing is planned.

                “Investment Recovery professionals are trained to handle an assortment of products and look for the best method to dispose of an asset for a company. When utilized, the IR professional will ensure that a company’s return on investment and total cost/benefit are maximized by evaluating what is the best way for a company to remove an asset. Many times, however, the IR professional is bypassed and others take on the IR role who aren’t trained, oftentimes looking at retired assets as an afterthought and just something to get rid of. This duplicative effort exposes the company to unnecessary risk and loss on investment that the IR professional reduces and eliminates.”

“Look upon your IR function as a separate business. As with any business, you are much more likely to succeed if you do the following: Have a plan, work your plan, review your progress, refine your approach. Be especially honest about your situation, your capabilities and your potential for improvement with yourself and your team. And don’t ever lose sight of the critical foundation for building your successful business … long-term client trust and satisfaction.”

• Is video a good way to advertise the surplus assets you are trying to sell? The answer is yes. Using pictures is a must when you want to reach potential clients. But Youtube videos are more and more used and well appreciated by companies, as they are not expensive, efficient and help customers have a better idea of the conditions the assets are in and may answer many of their questions. The video can be linked to the auction catalog and boosts its reach.

• How does your investment recovery department align? Survey results carried out by the Investment Recovery Association bring 3 statements. It is common for IR departments to handle fleet transactions. IR departments tend to manage “all” IR functions: large equipment, smaller items, scrap and other salvage projects, sometimes with the help of a third party. The IR departments often get involved in decommissioning and demolitions for their business. “Unless you’re an IR professional, the IR work is a process considered more a secondary task to your core duties and many times results in poor business decisions being made on IR activities.” This is why numerous companies choose to work with an external IR partner, such as our company Veracity.

• “Data is King when Selling Fleet Vehicles”. Data is key when you want to sell fleet vehicles. Information needs to be accurate and offered along with pictures. “When we as buyers have two identical units to choose from, we are always going to pay more for the unit that has the best description and photos, just like any buyer in the market for a used car would.” The more information the customer has, the better he/she is ready to make a decision in your favour. We can mention for example make, model, age, condition, mileage, condition, additional equipment and location. Vehicles tend to be sold online, more than at traditional auctions, as customers have a better access to uniform information.

• What do companies do with extra “Maintenance, Repair and Operating Parts” (MRO)? These parts help the facility running, such as light bulbs, bolts and motors. Managing inventory helps provide the right parts at the right time, and with a minimal cost. But, “of the $100 billion worth of parts purchased in 2012, approximately 15% of that inventory will remain on the shelves and potentially never get used.” The following questions need then to be asked: “Are we sure we cannot use it here?”, “Can any of our other sites use this material?” and “Can I sell it back to the Original Equipment Manufacturer that I bought these from?”. There are several options that can be chosen to recover value from these items, such as redeploying them, returning them or reselling them. Learn more about the whole range of investment recovery solutions through this blog post: http://wp.me/p2EjZw-3m.

Find the full issue at http://ow.ly/zzYMY.

Explore the Investment Recovery Canada LinkedIn Group and share your thoughts: 

Learn more about our investment recovery services and surplus asset disposition solutions:

Or contact us at 1-866-694-1252 or info@veracityamg.com! We will be glad to answer all your questions and see how your company can get the most of its surplus.

June Digest – Time to Catch Up!

Summer is here, but it does not mean that the energy sector is on holidays!

Catch up on what happened with our June Digest.Veracity Asset Management Group introduced Veracity Connect to the Utilities Standards Forum Members. http://wp.me/p2EjZw-32

 The new standard ISO14001 is to be drafted this year and released in 2015. What will be the impact on companies, their supply chain and their sustainability practices? http://wp.me/p2EjZw-3b

Find out how the 7 ways to dispose of your surplus equipment can help your company maximize the value of these assets: http://wp.me/p2EjZw-3m.

Critical spares in the utility industry? Get a better idea with this infographic: http://wp.me/p2EjZw-3D

In your mail box: Veracity Connect June newsletter. Reconditioning as an investment recovery method, our clients’ feedback and corporate sustainability are on the menu. http://wp.me/p2EjZw-3H.

Subscribe for the next one!

The “Large Power Transformers and the U.S. Electric Grid” report was released last April. Here are the 9 key facts which explain why large power transformers are critical to the US energy sector. http://wp.me/p2EjZw-3S

Go further with our website: www.veracityamg.com

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And contact us at info@veracityamg.com and 1-866-694-1252!

In Your Mail Box: Veracity Connect June Newsletter

Our June Newsletter is out! This month, we zoom on:

• The 7 R’s of Investment Recovery – “Recondition”
• Veracity Connect presented to the Utilities Standards Forum Members
• Your Feedback about our services!
• Investment Recovery & Corporate Sustainability
• The Value of Critical Spares
• Veracity at the EDA Commercial Steering Committee

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