September is already over. Fall entered the stage and leaves are showing a whole new range of orange and red. Here is an overview of posts we released on this blog this past month and key news from the utility industry.

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Blog posts

News

What happened to that national high voltage transmission system? http://ow.ly/AZaZj ““You can’t get enough clean energy from distributed resources,” said former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) chairman and staunch distributed energy resources (DERs) advocate Jon Wellinghoff.”

State governments pushing cities and utilities to get microgrids http://ow.ly/AZcSJ “The microgrid concept is gaining popularity especially in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey and New York, all of which have microgrid initiatives.”

U.S. utility’s 10-year $8.1bn transmission investments to boost economy http://ow.ly/AZXBL “The investment will bring $4.3 million in salary and benefits, along with $640 million for state and local governments, NJ Spotlight reports.”

Electric grid facing security threats from all sides http://ow.ly/B5RQ1 “”The secure and reliable delivery of electricity is a vital cornerstone of modern American society,” according to the CSPC.”

U.S.-wide blackout possible from small scale attack: FERC http://ow.ly/BhIeP “The report states that of the 55 substations in the nation, it would only take nine of them to fail in order for the whole power system to go down. The U.S. has only three separate grid systems.”

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Duke Energy set to auction off a million items from shuttered Crystal River nuclear plant http://ow.ly/BLME8 Auction is a good way to recover investment. We can help you do the same: http://ow.ly/BLMVy

Longest transmission link delivers renewable power http://ow.ly/BDWtQ “ABB has commissioned the converter stations to the 3,150 megawatt Rio Madeira High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) link in Brazil. At approximately 2,400 kilometers, the power connection is the longest transmission link in the world, according to ABB.”

Boldest utilities moving to the cloud http://ow.ly/BVVCI “Cloud computing is presenting challenges for regulated utilities in that the opportunity presented by the cloud must be looked at differently in the utility industry, according to IDC Energy Insights.” http://ow.ly/i/70EiL Veracity Connect is a part of the cloud and makes things easy for utilities to source critical spares: http://ow.ly/BVW4g

The utility that wants to build microgrids for customers (should you do the same?) http://ow.ly/BOKha “”Far from threatening the utility business, as the naysayers would have it, microgrids could present new business opportunities for utilities, with two recently launched initiatives pointing the way,” says a recent article in Engerati.”

Dynegy to buy over $6B in power generation assets from Duke, ECP http://ow.ly/BYHx5 “The company plans to spend $2.8 billion on Duke’s retail business and ownership interest in several plants and $3.45 billion for assets of Energy Capital Partners, or ECP. The deal will add about 12,500 megawatts of coal and gas generation and expand Dynegy’s retail business into Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan.”

Have a great October month!

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The trade show season is about to start again! You will find below a list of the most pertinent events in the procurement & supply chain field and the energy sector in North America.

Power Grid Resilience Summit

September 8 – 11, 2014, Hyatt Regency, San Francisco, California, U.S.

Back in April of 2013 there were two physical attacks on the grid. The first targeted PG&E’s Metcalf power substation in San Jose, the second was at TVA Watts Bar Nuclear Plant in Spring City, Tennessee. In the first instance PG&E lost functionality on 17 transformers, recovering operations in less than 4 weeks. Four weeks is actually remarkably quick…critical components such as transformers can take 3 months to 2 years to be manufactured and shipped, depending on the size and requirements.

Couple these challenges with new risks of unprecedented catastrophe from long-duration electric grid disruption… and the need for crafting and implementing practical, coherent, no-nonsense, nuts-and bolts disaster prevention, response and recovery plans also becomes a compelling priority.

IQPC’s Power Grid Resilience Summit for the first time, brings together top utility executives to share best practices with respect to immediate implementation of near-term and relatively low-cost steps to make our grid significantly more resilient.

This summit delivers “here’s how-to-do-it” methodologies to help you implement, manage and lead disaster prevention/recovery efforts in your utility.

Program: http://ow.ly/ydOIX

http://www.powergridresilience.com

83^rd Annual Utility Purchasing Management Group Conference

September 21-23, 2014, Orlando, Florida, U.S.

Over the years, Institute of Supply Management’s Utility Purchasing Management Group (UPMG) has grown significantly and its annual conference continues to be recognized as of the premier educational events within the utility supply chain industry. The event is hosted by Duke Energy.

Key Industry Topic Discussions from Duke Energy Senior Executives
Chief Procurement Office and Chief Financial Officer Panel Discussion
Change Management Techniques: Supply Chain Focus
Best Practices in Utility Supply Chain Focus
Best Practice in Utility Supply Chain Organizations
Talent Management
Futurist General Session
Buy America General Session
Disney Executive Addresses Attendees

http://www.upmg.org/

Contact: Marlon Merritt at Marlon.Merrit@duke-energy.com

International Council on Large Electric Systems (CIGRE) Canada Conference

September 22-24, 2014, Toronto, International Center, Canada

Electric utilities with transmission and distribution systems face tough challenges: planning, connecting and operating systems with radically different generation, including large solar and wind generation, and more power electronics-controlled loads. Concurrently, utilities must ensure reliability and adequate power quality, reduce carbon emissions, minimize visibility of new builds, improve customer service, moderate electricity rates, manage aging infrastructure, and address climate changes and extreme weather concerns.

At this conference, deepen your understanding of these utility issues, the solutions, approaches, methods, and tools which have worked successfully, and seek answers to specific emerging issues at your utility.

http://www.cigre.ca/

Contact: Conference.2014CIGRE@HydroOne.com

Smartgrid Canada Conference Montreal 2014

October 1-3, 2014, Westin Hotel, Montreal, Québec, Canada

For its fourth annual conference, SmartGrid Canada has partnered with the Smart Grid RoadShow to create the single leading event for the electricity industry. Between October 1-3 at the Westin Hotel in Montreal, utility representatives, industry members, policy makers and regulators will come together to discuss the challenges and opportunities in modernizing Canada’s electricity infrastructure.

The conference will explore the leading topics of the day, focusing on grid resiliency, the active customer and how smart grid technologies enable them. Extreme weather and other natural disasters can threaten lives, disable communities, and devastate electric utilities’ operations. With greater reliability demanded by the general public, utilities must respond with new strategies, resources and adaptation techniques to strengthen the electric grid.

Program: http://smartgridcanadaconf.ca/2014/programme/

http://smartgridcanadaconf.ca/2014/

Steven Desrochers | steven@smartgridroadshow.com
Sponsorships & Exhibition
1-(888) 332-3749 (x222)

Anne-Marie Enns | anne-marie.enns@sgcanada.org
Communications
1-(604) 313-3831

October 28-30, 2014 – Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Produced in partnership with the Supply Chain Management Association of Alberta, Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters and the Government of Alberta, the Canadian Energy Supply Chain Forum is a two and a half day conference and trade show focused on helping and enabling Canadian energy companies build a world-class supply chain.

This event will provide a number of world-class examples of supply chain management excellence and deliver guidance on how to think, interact and approach your daily work in new and innovative ways. The CESCF will provide insights on how Canadian energy companies can achieve supply chain excellence by re-evaluating communication practices, scope preparation, contract negotiation, risk management, integrated project delivery and more.

http://www.supplychainforum.ca/index.php/schedule

Federation of Alberta Gas-Co-ops Ltd. Annual General Meeting & Trade Fair

November 24-27, 2014, Delta Edmonton South Hotel/Radisson Edmonton South Hotel, Alberta, Canada

For 50 years, the Federation of Alberta Gas Co-ops Ltd. and its 81 Member Utilities have been proud to have helped build Rural Alberta. The supply of natural gas to remote areas of our province has been essential to the development of Alberta, and has ensured all Albertans have access to a great quality of life no matter where they are. From a small collection of farmers to now the world’s largest rural gas distribution system, we are proud of our story and will celebrate it at our Annual General Meeting and Trade Fair this November.

Program: http://www.fedgas.com/public/data/documents/01TradeFairBrochure14pdf.pdf

http://www.fedgas.com/admin/contentx/default.cfm?h=2&PageId=11163

For more information, contact Dawn Dietz at the Federation Office
(780) 416-6543 or ddietz@fedgas.com

NET 2015 – Touchstone Energy Annual New and Emerging Technologies

January 26-29, 2015, Tucson, Arizona, U.S.

NET 2015 is Touchstone Energy’s premiere B2B conference connecting national energy managers and key account personnel from around the nation. Hear and see what new technologies and topics are shaping our industry from national speakers and experts. View new products and services from our valued sponsors and exhibitors and network with beautiful Tucson as your backdrop.

Contact: Kathryn Momot, Program Manager, Kathryn.Momot@nreca.coop, (703) 907-5707

http://net.touchstoneenergy.com/content/net-2015

TechAdvantage Expo

February 23-26, 2015, Orlando, Florida, U.S.

TechAdvantage is at the forefront of innovation, delivering critical technologies that are transforming the world of engineering, information technology, energy services, operations, supply management and business. Join everyone for four days of leading-edge strategies and best practices created to share and demonstrate advantages in science, technology and other industry areas that will benefit Co-op Nation well into the 21st century.

Who comes to TechAdvantage?

Engineers eager to leverage new applications and existing technologies to do their jobs well and do their jobs right
Sharp operations professionals wanting to keep pace with new technologies who are ready to execute results and fire on all cylinders
IT professionals targeting new skills and analyzing practical information to manage infrastructure, security and strategy
Frontline supply managers attentive to new ideas and innovative products that they can maneuver and apply at their co-ops
National co-op leaders wanting to hear from technology experts about what they see coming to determine how their co-ops will meet new challenges
Smart co-op insiders, hungry for what comes next and re-energized by new ideas that will elevate their efforts to new levels

Eric Commodore, NRECA
Telephone: 703.907.5577, Fax: 703.907.5521, eric.commodore@nreca.coop

Mary Novack, Kenworthy Management, Inc., NRECA Show Management
Telephone: 718.578.4658, Fax: 718.848.5095mary@kenworthymanagement.com

http://www.techadvantage.org

Supply Chain Management Association National Conference

June 10 to 12, 2015, Halifax, Nova Scotia

Canada’s premier event for supply chain management professionals is also its largest. Each year, 500 top procurement and supply chain decision-makers from across Canada come together at the SCMA National Conference to discover the latest developments and best practices in the profession.

http://www.scmanational.ca/nationalconference/

Email: info@scmanational.ca

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