T&D POWER Direct

  • DOE Orders Fossil Units Online After Puerto Rico Blackouts, Citing Dispatchable Capacity Need

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has invoked emergency authority to compel Puerto Rico’s public utility to dispatch mothballed oil-fired and fossil-fueled power units, citing an imminent threat to grid reliability following two major blackouts in less than a month. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, acting on behalf of the DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, […]

  • Con Edison Investing in Major Reliability Projects Serving Customers in Brooklyn and Staten Island

    New transmission lines will help meet power needs this summer. Con Edison will energize newly constructed transmission lines in Brooklyn and Staten Island this month, helping to keep service reliable when the demand for power rises and challenges the electric delivery system. The underground cables, which represent a combined investment of $505 million, will provide […]

  • Enverus Releases 2025 Interconnection Queue Outlook

    Enverus, an energy-dedicated, software-as-a-service company that leverages generative artificial intelligence across its solutions, has released its 2025 Interconnection Queue Outlook, a comprehensive collection of power generation and transmission projects that show requests to connect to the U.S. power grid.

  • T&D POWER Direct—May 5, 2025

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   May 5, 2025 How PG&E Is Supporting EV Growth Without Expensive Grid and Home Upgrades As electric vehicles (EVs) surge in popularity, many American homeowners are discovering a hidden obstacle to the EV transition: the aging electrical infrastructure of the nation’s housing […]

  • SEL Introduces the LINAM UGFI Underground Fault Indicator

    Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories recently announced the release of the LINAM UGFI Underground Fault Indicator, a product of the E. O. Schweitzer Manufacturing facility in Lake Zurich, Illinois. The innovative device offers several key features that help distribution system operators reduce the duration of outages by streamlining underground fault locating. The LINAM UGFI is rugged, submersible, […]

  • Con Edison Building New Transmission Line for NYC Borough

    Con Edison has said it is investing $125 million to build a new transmission line that will support economic development and the electrification of buildings and vehicles in Queens, New York. The Reliable Clean City—Long Island City project will connect the Vernon and Newtown substations in Long Island City.

  • PJM Taps Google and Tapestry to Use AI for Grid Interconnection Planning

    PJM, the largest grid operator in North America, has launched a multiyear partnership with tech giant Google and its Alphabet X moonshot Tapestry to streamline PJM’s grid interconnection process using artificial intelligence (AI) tools. The companies said the effort could significantly improve planning and decision-making as grid pressures intensify. Under the initiative, announced on April […]

  • Addressing Data Center Growth Constraints Key to U.S. Innovation, Leadership in AI

    As the artificial intelligence (AI) boom drives exponential demand for data centers, the United States’ position as an AI leader is at risk without immediate action to address growth constraints.

  • Nation’s Power Operators Warn Congress of a Coming Reliability Shortfall

    Seven major U.S. grid operators have raised a unified alarm about an impending capacity crunch, warning that the pace and scale of explosive demand—including from data centers, manufacturing, and electrification—pose a precarious misalignment with accelerating generator retirements and transmission constraints. At a March 25 hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy, the […]

  • Heathrow Airport Transformer Fire Prompts Urgent Inquiry, Exposes Cracks in Grid Resilience

    One week after a catastrophic fire at the North Hyde electrical substation plunged the UK’s flagship Heathrow Airport into chaos, questions are mounting about what went wrong—and what the incident reveals about the vulnerabilities in Britain’s aging power infrastructure. A massive explosion and fire that erupted around 8:20 p.m., on Thursday, March 20, at the […]

  • How Hybrid Cloud and Edge Computing are Transforming the Energy Sector

    The energy industry is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by advancements in digital technology and the ever-growing need for real-time data analytics. As energy companies look to modernize their operations, they face unique challenges that demand innovative solutions. Some of the most pressing concerns for energy professionals today include: Increased risk of downtime and the […]

  • T&D POWER Direct—March 10, 2025

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   March 10, 2025 Lawmakers Scrutinize Power Sector's Future as Surging Demand Raises Alarms In a hearing that underscored the mounting challenges facing the American power sector, industry leaders warned Congress that the nation’s power infrastructure is approaching a precarious juncture as unprecedented […]

  • Software and DLRs Key to Unlocking Power Grid’s Potential

    Imagine unlocking 30% more power from our existing grid overnight. That’s the potential we’re ignoring, and it’s costing us billions. The demand for energy is rising, and utilities are struggling to serve this growth. In the U.S., congestion costs have increased from $8 billion in 2021 to more than $11 billion in 2023 despite record […]

  • Landsnet and Laki Power Tackle Severe Weather Challenges in Iceland

    Landsnet owns and operates Iceland’s power transmission system and is responsible for building and maintaining a secure and reliable electrical grid. Monitoring the grid in Iceland is uniquely challenging because of the country’s rugged, often inaccessible terrain and extreme weather conditions—particularly severe winds and sub-zero temperatures. Between December 10 and 11, 2019, northern Iceland experienced […]

  • Italy Passes Law to Bring Back Nuclear Energy

    Government officials in Italy have implemented a new law that allows for nuclear energy to return in the country, four decades after voters banned the technology in a 1987 referendum. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has called the measure, adopted by the government on Feb. 28, a move toward energy security for Italy. The law, which […]

  • Increasing Voltage Complaints Demand Whole-System Solutions

    The rise in customer voltage complaints is one of the hot topics in play within the industry forum we recently hosted, “Voltage Matters.” The forum brings together members from across the electricity industry to share their concerns and experiences on all things voltage-related. More than 60 forum members were presented with figures from a UK […]

  • Tri-State Energizes Colorado Transmission Line

    Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association has completed work on an electricity transmission line in eastern Colorado, one of several transmission and distribution (T&D) projects the group has planned through 2028.

  • PG&E, Citizens Energy Program Will Fund Grid Investments, Benefit Ratepayers

    California-based Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and nonprofit charitable organization Citizens Energy Corp. are partnering on a proposed investment program that expects to provide more than $450 million to help PG&E customers in low- and moderate-income households pay their energy bills. Submitted to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) late last month, the updated […]

  • Duke Researchers: Grid Flexibility Key to Accommodate Load Growth

    Researchers from Duke University have said that integrating more flexibility into U.S. power grids could help provide the energy needed to power future load growth, particularly the electricity needed to support artificial intelligence and data centers. The group in a Feb. 19 webinar discussed their findings, which are contained in their recent report titled “Rethinking […]

  • Eaton Increasing Transformer Manufacturing with South Carolina Investment

    Power management company Eaton said it is helping address the critical shortage of transformers, along with record demand for its solutions from utility, large commercial, industrial and data center customers, with a $340 million investment to increase U.S. production of its three-phase transformers essential to reliable electrical power. Production and hiring at Eaton’s new Jonesville, […]

  • The POWER Interview: Using Data, Device Models, and More to Support the Grid

    Amanda Neuenfeldt is the energy management system (EMS) modeling lead engineer at Actalent, a global company specializing in engineering and sciences services, along with talent solutions. Neuenfeldt works with emerging grid technologies related to artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and cybersecurity. She has studied the application of a predictive machine learning algorithm, coupled with […]

  • The POWER Interview: Enhancing Reliability of the U.S. Power System

    Designing, building, and maintaining the network of power transmission lines and associated infrastructure that delivers electricity across the U.S. is a complex task. It involves disparate components, from thermal power plants using different fuel types, to renewable energy such as solar, wind, and geothermal installations. Substations are another component, and the use of battery energy […]

  • A Renewed Vision for the Energy Grid: Turning Challenges into Opportunities

    As the world accelerates toward an electrified future driven by renewable energy, electric vehicles (EVs), and industrial electrification, energy distribution grids face unprecedented challenges. From grid overloads and delays in connecting distributed energy resources (DERs) to frequency instabilities and inadequate infrastructure upgrades, the need for transformative action is clear. These challenges, however, present a unique opportunity to rethink and […]

  • Oil and Gas Exec Wright Confirmed to Lead DOE

    The U.S. Senate in a 59-38 vote has confirmed Colorado-based oil and gas executive Chris Wright as secretary of the Dept. of Energy (DOE). Seven Democrats, including both Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper from Wright’s home state, crossed party lines and voted with Republicans on Feb. 3 to confirm Wright. Angus King, the independent from […]

  • Cisco, Gridspertise Join to Support Grid Digitization

    Cisco, a global technology company, and Gridspertise have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop and deploy new solutions for the digital innovation in electricity grids. The companies announced the deal on Jan. 28. The MoU is a collaborative framework that leverages both Cisco and Gridspertise’s technological and business expertise. The companies on Tuesday […]

  • Annual Stocktaking: Empowering Future Power Systems with fgOTN

    As you enjoy the comforts of air-conditioned homes, chilled watermelons at outdoor gatherings, or a cold beer at a barbecue, or perhaps as you charge a new electric vehicle, have you ever stopped to think about where the electricity comes from to make all these conveniences a reality? According to the International Energy Agency, global […]

  • As Last Measure, Biden Administration Unveils $23B in Utility Loan Commitments to Modernize Grid, Boost Clean Energy

    As a significant final move before the incoming Trump administration takes office, the Biden administration has announced conditional loan commitments totaling $22.92 billion to support projects by eight utility companies across the U.S. The investments will seek to modernize infrastructure, expand clean energy generation, and improve grid reliability, impacting millions of customers, the Department of […]

  • Why Utilities Can’t Afford to Wait to Deploy DLR

    Transmission congestion currently affects approximately 70% of the U.S. grid. Bottlenecks delay the interconnection of cost-effective clean energy sources, limit the transfer of electricity between regions, and raise operational and consumer costs. Dynamic line rating (DLR) technology mitigates these challenges with valuable newfound transmission capacity. DLR allows operators to utilize the maximum capacity of existing […]

  • Five Critical Insights from NERC’s 2024 Long-Term Reliability Assessment

    Well over half of North America faces a potential shortage of electricity supplies in the coming years, compounded by surging demand growth, accelerating generator retirements, and delays in resource development, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has warned in its latest 2024 Long-Term Reliability Assessment (LTRA). The designated electric reliability organization’s (ERO’s) annual 10-year […]

  • DOE Advances Three Potential NIETCs—High-Priority National Electric Transmission Corridors

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has advanced three potential National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (NIETCs) into Phase 3 of its designation process, focusing on areas with critical transmission constraints to enhance grid reliability and reduce consumer costs. The measure is historic—given no NIETCs currently exist despite a decades-long effort to establish them—and it marks […]