January Energy Grid Roundup: Everything You Need to Know

Top 12 Grid Optimization Articles of 2014 – Grid improvements and distributed grid are what utilities focus on.

10 energy numbers to remember from 2014 – Renewables, iPhone 6,  pollution, World Cup and efficiency.

Transmission & Distribution World’s 15 Most Notable Articles of 2014 – Distributed energy sources & renewables are this year’s key words.

Nuclear energy sector saw some steady progress in 2014 – India &  Russia are top clients for new nuclear plants

Blast from the past: 2014! – The 12 blog posts that you cannot miss about utilities and asset management

12 Utility Trends For 2015

What was the biggest power breakthrough in the last 100 years? AC-DC & energy storage have changed the grid.

Extreme Weather

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

A snow storm for lunch! Maximize your mutual aid efforts with Veracity. Emergency response plans are essential to cope with future disasters. http://ow.ly/i/7PPS3

How is the weather like in your area? Are you a utility? Capitalize on mutual aid with Veracity Connect

PJM Seeks To Delay Idling Of 2,500 MW As Hedge Against Winter Shortages – Utilities get ready for the worst of winter.

Managing Restoration of Critical Utility Infrastructure – Our mutual aid and critical spares management platform helps you find critical equipment when the worst occurs: http://ow.ly/GyJB9

Storm Hardening the Grid – Are you ready? We can help you with mutual aid agreements http://ow.ly/E8juF

Cloud-Based Approaches to Disaster Recovery – VeracityConnect helps utilities boost mutual aid:  http://ow.ly/GS8Pe

Beyond NERC: best practices for worst-case scenarios – “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 http://ow.ly/Ccjlh

U.S. Power Reliability: Are We Kidding Ourselves? – “The average U.S. customer loses power for 214 minutes per year. That compares to 70 in the United Kingdom, 53 in France, 29 in the Netherlands, 6 in Japan, and 2 minutes per year in Singapore.” – IEEE Spectrum

Nuclear

England’s Hinkley Point C nuclear plant to break ground in 2015 – Two Chinese corporations have shares in the project.

Kudankulam nuclear units to be up and running by 2021 – India’s new plant will have a capacity of 1,000 MW.

Areva clinches control systems deal for China nuclear reactors – The French company will provide instrumentation and control systems for two new reactors. The six reactors will start operating in 2018.

Nuclear reactors halted following deadly chemical leak – 3 workers died at the Shingori-3 reactor site, operated by Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co.

Nuclear power key to UAE’s sustainability – A nuclear plant is the answer to limited power generation.

Nuclear plant leaked 2,000 gallons of oil into Lake Michigan for months – The leak is now fixed, not the damages.

Vermont Just Lost 70% of Its Power From This Nuclear Shutdown

Nine local companies place bid for $1 billion hydraulic systems of Akkuyu nuke plant  – Turkey’s first nuclear plant on the coastal province of Mersin.

Coal

U.S. Coal Losing Power Business Dominance but Not Going Away – In 2022, 230 GW will still be generated through coal.

National Grid Corporation of the Philippines to invest P2.22B in Mindanao coal plant’s transmission facility The plant will consists of four 135-MW units and will be operational by 2017-2018.

Electric Cooperatives

NRECA Welcomes New Grid Protections for G&Ts – “NERC’s new Physical Security Grid Reliability Standards provide a framework for co-ops and other utilities to assess physical system risks, identify critical facilities, evaluate physical threats and vulnerabilities and develop an approach to address risks to the nation’s most critical substations and associated control centers,” said NRECA CEO Jo Ann Emerson.

Old FedEx Truck Now Helps Coop Restore Power – The truck now delivers parts to crews in the field.

Connect with other co-ops, OEMs & leading transformer brokers to leverage a pool of critical spares

Regulations

EPA releases coal ash rule – The Environmental Protection Agency will consider coal ash as household waste.

Utility Spending on Energy Efficiency Soars as Supportive State Policies Are Expanded

Utility regulators authorize Xcel generating projects – The company will be able to build more than $500 million in new generating units.

EPA’s rule rigged against nuclear – Climate change requires quick action from regulators and utilities.

The biggest threat to demand response? It may not be the Order 745 ruling.

EPA defines classification of fly ash from coal fired power plants – Can environment and coal coexist?

Decommissioning

Decommissioning Projects – Why it takes so long & costs so much

Westinghouse, Bechtel Announce Alliance for U.S. Decontamination, Decommissioning of nuclear plants

Exelon: Company dismantling Zion nuclear plant is running out of money – Around 40% of the costs are “in shipping and disposing of low level radioactive waste”. $800 million may not be enough for decommissioning.

Fitch Ratings Warns on Early Nuclear Retirements – Is reducing the nuclear percentage in energy sources a bad thing?

Global nuclear decommissioning cost seen underestimated, may spiral – Several companies admit that their decommissioning funds are not sufficient.

 

Renewables

Utilities Should Avoid Over-Investing When Integrating Renewable Energy into their Grid – Renewables require a solid investment plan.

Report: Distributed-Renewables Disruption Will Reduce Utility Revenues By Up To $123 Billion A Year By 2025 – Could utilities change the game?

A huge floating solar farm will be built on a reservoir in Japan – Would solar be the new offshore renewable source of energy?

EDF confirms 400 MW Brazil hydro acquisition – EDF has secured 51% stake of the Sinop hydroelectric project.

2015 OUTLOOK: Brazil gets serious about solar – Climate changes push the grid to its limits, with a need for renewables more than ever.

India Committed to World’s Largest Solar Park – NTPC Limited’s plant has a capacity of 750 MW.

Utility of the future – solar, storage, EVs and micro-grids – Consumers become prosumers and have more influential power than you think.

Grid Improvement

BC Hydro Delivers Power and Progress – The company led the Northwest Transmission 213-mile line project carried out in only 2 years, creating 5,500 direct jobs.

Transmission Line Connects Minnesota and Wisconsin – Building the transmission line involves construction on an island. Construction crews commute by barges and boats.

ITC Great Plains Energizes V-Plan Transmission Line, Substations in Kansas

Kenya Power to invest US$95.9m in 36 new substations around the country – The goal is to improve the grid’s reliability. A total of 5,000 MW of power will be added to the grid by 2017.

How utilities can plan for the future of transmission and distributed generation –  Flexibility and cost-justifiability are the new transmission & distribution keywords.

Greater demands on outage management systems mean more investment coming

FirstEnergy completes $6 million transmission project – The project aims at meeting the demand growth driven by the shale gas industry across its Ohio Edison service area.

$356 bn needed for Arab power projects: study – The projects focus on capacity expansion & distribution network.

NY offers $14.5 million for power plant upgrades – The money comes from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative “a carbon cap-and-trade program that charges fossil fuel-burning power plants for the carbon dioxide they emit.”

Eaton wins contract from Green Mountain Power to upgrade automate electrical system in Vermont

Grid Equipment

Equipment Criticality: What makes your industrial equipment essential to your company

NYPA approves budget that includes $24.5M for transformer and circuit breaker replacement in Massena – Six 765-kV transformers will be installed, each weighing 200 tons.

Transformers: An Essential Link of the Electrical Grid

Smart Grid

Great Progress on Smart Grid and Smart City Predictions for 2020

How to make your smart grid even smarter – Storage, microgrids and software are utilities’ new key tools.

Smart Cities Charlotte May 12 – 13, 2015 – Smart Cities is an Energy Central event designed to educate utilities, solution providers and communities on the steps and paths to collaboratively develop Smart Cities in their region. #SmartCities2015

Company News

We launched our large surplus online catalogue featuring like-new assets from utilities

Veracity Connect: a platform to automate mutual aid – Veracity Connect allows members to work together to strengthen mutual aid and to be better prepared for infrastructure failure and extreme weather events.

Access reports from the U.S. utility industry – Electric Infrastructure, Asset Management and Grid Security

Recovering value from a plant decommissioning? Learn more about some of the projects we carried out.

Are you a Google+ user? Let us add you to our circle!

Here is a new way for utilities to source critical spares: Veracity Connect & LinkedIn. Curious about it? We will be glad to answer all your questions. Contact us at info@veracityamg.com or 1-866-694-1252.

Are you a utility company? Have instant access to mutual aid contact & resources via the online platform Veracity Connect

What we do for our Clients: Critical Spares Management & Investment Recovery

Are you a utility? Have instant access to mutual aid contact & resources with Veracity Connect

Are you a utility company? Maximize the value of surplus equipment with Veracity’s investment recovery.

Join the Investment Recovery Canada LinkedIn group and find opportunities for your Canadian company.

Aging grid assets? Know when to replace them http://ow.ly/GAQvw Get help from Veracity Connect.

Are you paying to get rid of idle assets? Turn them into money back with our Investment Recovery Team.

Get a better idea of our investment recovery & critical spares management services: http://www.veracityamg.com

Through Veracity Connect, connect with other member co-ops, OEMs and leading transformer brokers to leverage a pool of available critical spares: http://ow.ly/BonlR #utilities #electriccooperatives #criticalspares http://ow.ly/i/7jlps

Source assets in no time & save on costs with Veracity Connect: http://ow.ly/Hj4dB #utilities #criticalspares http://ow.ly/i/7jkZw

#Transformers, Mutual Aid & Asset Disposition are components of Veracity Connect: http://ow.ly/Hj95a http://ow.ly/i/7Invt #utilities

Subscribe to our newsletter: Critical Spares Mgmt & Investment Recovery for #Utilities http://eepurl.com/LVtY1 http://ow.ly/i/73Jj2

Finding critical spares was a manual, drawn out & frustrating experience. Not anymore with Veracity Connect! http://ow.ly/Hj6GF

Binder, spreadsheet… as a #utility company, you deserve better to source critical spares: Try Veracity Connect: http://ow.ly/Hj7g6

Are you a #Utility company? Leverage a pool of Critical Spares through the Power of Collaboration – Veracity Connect http://ow.ly/HWz0I

Company Blog

Supply Chain & ISO 14000: Connecting Sustainability and Investment Recovery

Debunking 5 myths of Purchasing Reconditioned Electrical Assets – Infographic

7 ways to dispose of your surplus assets!

Collaborative economy & idle asset – Your surplus equipment can serve your sustainability

Webinars for Utilities: A la carte! We help utilities with mutual aid & asset mgmt services: www.veracityamg.com

Critical Spares Infographic – Do you have critical spares you need to turn into money back to the bottom line? http://ow.ly/i/5VuQV

ISO 55000: Meet Your (New) Friend SAM

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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:

Subscribe to our Veracity’s monthly newsletter: Critical Spares Management & Investment Recovery for Utilities

Webinars for Utilities: A la carte!

Webinars are a great medium to get high-quality information through qualified speakers’ presentations and slides. On specific dates for live webinars, or on-demand as recorded presentations, there is the choice. The number of webinars designed for utilities has increased over the last few years. Most of them are free or at a reasonable cost.

For each webinar, click on the picture or the weblink below it. Here is the menu:

 

The Future of Mobile Workforce Management for Utilities

   January 22, 2015, 11 am EST   http://ow.ly/Hne9Q

“Mobile Workforce Management is amongst the top 5 applications utilities intend to invest in over the next 12-24 months, according to data from IDC Energy Insights. Why the urgency? Join Roberta Bigliani, VP and Analyst at IDC Energy Insights and Mike Karlskind, VP of Product Marketing at ClickSoftware as they discuss several challenges faced by utilities and how the most successful organizations are managing them with a combination of the right resources and technology.

Topics covered include:

• Successful smart meter deployments
• Streamlining and enhancing customer experience
• Integrated storm management
• Agility for shift priorities”

Speakers: Roberta Bigliani, VP and Analyst at IDC Energy Insights, Mike Karlskind, VP of Product Marketing at ClickSoftware.

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Defining the Value of the Grid

January 22, 2015, 2 pm EST    http://ow.ly/HniHJ

“Our legacy grid has value and deserves continued investment. As we transition toward a more integrated grid that can accommodate new distributed energy sources, utility-scale renewables and energy storage, we need to keep the best of the old while embracing the new.

Today’s electric utility industry leadership faces many challenges. As we rebuild and harden an aging T&D infrastructure, we must embrace new technologies that often are introduced by fast-moving customers or competitors. We also face a new competitive landscape where utilities compete for transmission projects. These challenges and more are occurring in an era of low (or no) load growth.

Speakers: In this webinar, Ken Bowes, Vice President-Engineering for Connecticut Light & Power, and Mike Beehler, Vice President of Burns & McDonnell’s Transmission & Distribution Division, will explore a number of issues facing utilities, regulators and public policy makers as they redefine the value of the grid and position the industry for the abundant opportunities of the future”

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DEED Webinar: The Solar Roadmap – A Tool to Help Utilities Become Solar-ReadyYou will need your APPA login information to have access to the webinar.

January 27, 2015, 2 pm – 3:30 pm EST   http://ow.ly/HmZe0

“As the owners and operators of the electric grid, utilities control the playing field on which solar installations happen. Innovative utilities recognize the tremendous opportunity this presents and are taking advantage of solar to diversify their resource base, connect with customers and create new business opportunities. To help utilities navigate this new space, Western Area Power Administration, the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) and Optony Inc. have teamed up to provide free technical assistance directly to utilities using the Solar Roadmap platform.

The Solar Roadmap team works with participating utilities to benchmark their existing programs and policies, and highlight opportunities to become more involved in local solar deployment. These opportunities are presented in the form of a ‘roadmap,’ an interactive online platform that is updated as the utility makes progress. Each roadmap is customized and features a set of actions the utility can pursue to prepare itself for increasing levels of distributed generation. Topics include new developments; such as community solar program design, online solar mapping tools, updated billing systems, and alternatives to net metering; along with traditional areas such as interconnection standards and processes.

Each action is accompanied by templates and case studies from other utilities that have achieved it. This gives participating utilities more insight into what their peers are doing and provides practical steps for taking action. Participants also receive the benefit of direct technical assistance for utility staff to help implement these recommendations.”

Speakers: Becky Campbell, Senior Manager, Research and Advisory Services, SEPA; Thomas Yurysta, Senior Project Manager, Optony Inc.

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Energy Market Trends and Impact of the Clean Power Plan: Black & Veatch 2015 Energy Market Perspective

Janurary 28, 2015, 1 pm EST   http://ow.ly/Hn7C4

“Black & Veatch invites you to join our free webinar highlighting key findings from our 2015 outlook on the integrated North American energy markets. This one-hour webinar will cover: * How oil prices and the oil industry will ultimately impact the natural gas and power industries * The potential impacts the Clean Power Plan and other environmental regulations will have on the U.S. power market * 25-year energy price forecasts that include projected natural gas, coal and oil prices, average electricity and capacity prices, and carbon emissions price

Black & Veatch’s proprietary Energy Market Perspective is an information and planning resource for the energy industry that assesses how current energy industry trends will affect future fuel prices, power prices and asset performance. Infrastructure investors, utility leaders and asset owners use the Energy Market Perspective to support transactional due diligence, project financing, strategy development, portfolio optimization, and feasibility studies that include operating and revenue forecasts of prospective and existing assets.”

Speakers: Black & Veatch is an employee-owned, global leader in building critical human infrastructure in Energy, Water, Telecommunications and Government Services. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of people in over 100 countries through consulting, engineering, construction, operations and program management. Our revenues in 2013 were US$3.6 billion.

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Energy Market Trends and Impact of the Clean Power Plan

January 28, 2015, 1 pm – 2 pm EST    http://ow.ly/HzcRa

“Black & Veatch invites you to join our free webinar highlighting key findings from our 2015 outlook on the integrated North American energy markets. This one-hour webinar will cover:
– How oil prices and the oil industry will ultimately impact the natural gas and power industries
– The potential impacts the Clean Power Plan and other environmental regulations will have on the U.S. power market

– 25-year energy price forecasts that include projected natural gas, coal and oil prices, average electricity and capacity prices, and carbon emissions prices

Black & Veatch’s proprietary Energy Market Perspective is an information and planning resource for the energy industry that assesses how current energy industry trends will affect future fuel prices, power prices and asset performance. Infrastructure investors, utility leaders and asset owners use the Energy Market Perspective to support transactional due diligence, project financing, strategy development, portfolio optimization, and feasibility studies that include operating and revenue forecasts of prospective and existing assets.

Black & Veatch is a world leader in the energy infrastructure markets, with expertise in renewables, nuclear, natural gas, fossil fuels, hydroelectric and transmission. This experience is combined with our leading management consulting capabilities in economics, regulatory compliance and integrated resource planning, among other areas, to deliver a complete and integrated viewpoint of current and future energy market trends.”

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Best Practices for Integrating Your Residential Demand Response and Energy Efficiency Programs

January 29, 2015, 12 pm EST http://ow.ly/HnasJ

“In this webinar, you will learn how to address these challenges and more through integrating your residential demand response and energy efficiency programs. Discover best practices for:

• Building a reliable source of new capacity that also helps customers achieve significant energy savings
• Improving the cost-effectiveness of demand management programs
• Increasing customer participation and engagement in energy management and conservation programs, resulting in high customer satisfaction”

Speakers: Steve Hambric, Vice President, Strategic Sales and Operations, Comverge; Pravin Bhagat, Vice President of Marketing, Comverge.

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Energy Efficiency Webinar Series: Implementing an Energy Efficiency Portfolio

February 10, 2015, 2 pm – 3:30 pm EST   http://ow.ly/Hn0Ao

“To promote energy efficiency to customers, utilities need a portfolio of programs targeted at various segments of customers. This webinar will provide a high-level overview on how to develop and implement an energy efficiency portfolio suited to your unique customer base.

One of the most important aspects of a successful energy efficiency program is building participation from the targeted customers. Too often, customers indicate their willingness to participate early on, then don’t support the program once it’s launched. Learn strategies for building customer buy-in early and keeping them involved through market outreach, a high level of customer service, and branding initiatives.

• Developing programs & portfolios
• Market research for program design
• Program planning, design and implementation
• Marketing demand side management programs and the customer value proposition”

Speaker: Wallace Barron, President, Barron & Associates Corporate Solutions, Atlanta, Ga.

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Public Power’s Unique Business Model and Governance Structure

February 12, 2015, 2 pm – 3:30 pm EST    http://ow.ly/Hn1Hl

“Two basic factors for new and experienced public power governing board members to understand are the unique elements of public power’s traditional business model, and the different structures of public power governance. This webinar addresses the components of the public power business model and the challenges it faces as the industry transitions. The instructor will also cover the various structures of public power governance (utility board, city council, etc.) and how to assure the maximum effectiveness of whichever governance model your community employs.”

Speaker: Dr. Jeff Tarbert, President & CEO, The Tarbert Group, LLC, Falls Church, Va.  Jeff retired after 37 years as senior vice president with the American Public Power Association, where he oversaw member services programs, and worked in the areas of governance, strategy, utility management and energy efficiency.

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 Electric Utility 101: Generation

February 17, 2015, 2 pm – 3:30 pm EST    http://ow.ly/Hn2ka

“Power supply and delivery are highly technical, complex and interrelated issues. Historically the generation sector was made up of traditional production facilities such as coal, nuclear, hydro, gas and oil. Today, generation is more diverse and includes not only traditional fuel sources but also a wide range of renewable generation, such as wind and solar. In addition, integrated resource planning and demand-side programs also impact supply-side options.

This webinar, aimed at policymakers and non-technical employees, focuses on the first step in the complex power supply chain, the production of electric energy. The instructor will also present an overview of the major types of generation characteristics when supplying the daily load curves.”

Speaker: Wallace Barron, President, Barron & Associates, Corporate Solutions, LLC, Atlanta, Ga.  Wallace has over 40 years of experience in the electric energy industry, 15 of which have been with public power and cooperative systems. He previously worked as a vice president of marketing, customer service, and distribution technology at the Florida Power Corporation. Wallace has a broad range of experience in the utility industry. His responsibilities have included key accounts, customer service, rates and pricing, economic development, demand-side management, strategic planning and distribution engineering. He has also served as an expert witness on many of these topics.

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Electric Utility 101: Substations

March 19, 2015, 2 pm – 3:30 pm EST   http://ow.ly/Hn34n

“Substations are the transition points in the electric grid. They connect the generation, transmission and distribution systems. Substations come in all sizes and shapes and are the point where most retail utilities buy their wholesale power. They can be complex control nodes in the system and will be a significant focus for the smart grid at the generation and transmission levels.

This webinar provides a non-technical overview into the applications and functions of substations. The instructor will cover why substations are needed and the role they play in a reliable electric supply chain.”

Speaker: Wallace Barron, President, Barron & Associates, Corporate Solutions, LLC, Atlanta, Ga.  Wallace has over 40 years of experience in the electric energy industry, 15 of which have been with public power and cooperative systems. He previously worked as a vice president of marketing, customer service, and distribution technology at the Florida Power Corporation. Wallace has a broad range of experience in the utility industry. His responsibilities have included key accounts, customer service, rates and pricing, economic development, demand-side management, strategic planning and distribution engineering. He has also served as an expert witness on many of these topics.

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RP3 Series: Reliability

March 20, 2015, 1 pm – 2 pm EST   http://ow.ly/Hn3Or

“In the reliability section you will be asked to (a) track your reliability indices and power quality, (b) plan for the future through mutual aid and emergency plans, and (c) maintain physical and cyber security. The goal of this section is to ensure that you have the core tenets in place to deliver reliable electricity to your community.”

Speakers: Neil James, Manager Distribution Operations, Santee Cooper, APPA RP3 Staff

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RP3 Series: Safety

March 27, 2015, 1 pm – 2 pm EST   http://ow.ly/Hn4u0

“The core purpose of the safety section is to encourage a culture of safety throughout your utility. Essential items like having an updated safety manual, holding regular safety meetings, and conducting disaster drills make up the majority of this section. Each year, APPA’s Safety Committee reviews this section to ensure that you are meeting current safety standards and regulations.”

Speaker: Jon Beasley, Superintendent, Electric Cities of Georgia, APPA RP3 Staff

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PV Power and Power Quality: Understanding Your Options for Utility-Scale Grid Compliance

On-demand    http://ow.ly/Hn5GS

Learn about:

• “Upfront planning:  Understanding up front what issues could occur downstream will be better for the lifecycle of your project than unexpectedly down the road.
• Inverter selection:  Key considerations in inverter selection to make the most economically productive use of your solar inverters and comply with interconnection agreements.
• Power quality:  Taking a look at proven technologies like BESS and STATCOM within the substation that PV plants can use to address congestion issues and other grid code requirements.  When should you consider each of these technologies and how do they benefit the developer?”

Speakers: Ulf Andersson, Director of Engineering, ABB Power Systems, US – Substations; Jaspreet Singh, Product Manager, Utility Inverters, North America, ABB; Martin Shalhoub, Manager, Power Systems Consulting, North America; Pat Hayes, Account Manager for Energy Storage Power Conversion Systems, ABB.

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On demand – 60 minutes    http://ow.ly/HmXE6

Learn:

• “How to test scalability without the significant capital investment
• Ways to prepare the back office for mobility and the data explosion while keeping customers satisfied
• How to apply more rigorous testing to the applications earlier in the lifecycle and enable organizations to reduce defects getting into production.”

Speaker: Jeff Cunliffe — CEO, Automation Consultants, Jeff Cunliffe has a background in technology management spanning 20 years starting back in 1994 for US Defense firm, Rockwell. Jeff founded Automation Consultants in 2000, a company that provides IT solutions for the Utilities sector and has driven it to be the success it is today. He has an engineering degree from London University and a Masters degree in economics from Oxford University.”

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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:

Subscribe to our Veracity’s monthly newsletter: Critical Spares Management & Investment Recovery for Utilities