The biggest transmission projects in North America are in the West and each one faces unique permitting, rights-of-way, engineering and construction challenges. Project leaders for some of the largest projects in the West will discuss the biggest hurdles to getting The West is too vast and diverse to be a single region under FERC's Order No. 1000. Complying with that rule only begins the evolution of Western transmission planning processes. But the West has unique challenges to overcome in optimizing its high-voltage infrastructure. more...

FERC is driving a reassessment of how, and for what purpose, Western transmission is planned. It has continued its deferential approach to regional stakeholders, and has not prescribed organized markets as a solution. But, it clearly seeks to optimize electricity commerce across all regions and sub-regions through transmission infrastructure development. more...

With computer viruses everyday news - and threats to power grids and computer networks proliferating, power grid security is growing ever more important. Many experts think it is only a matter of time until criminals or nation states cripple a power grid. more...

Energy storage has been called "the holy grail" of the power industry, but that's true only if it serves a specific application in a cost-effective manner that can be monetized and the return-on-investment beats alternatives. more...

Uncertainty haunts the United States utility industry: Natural-gas prices have plummeted, environmental regulations are throttling coal-fired power, and nuclear power's viability is being questioned in the wake of the Japanese nuclear disaster and the termination of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. more...

More than 50 high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission projects will add 23,000 miles of transmission to the North American power grid. Worldwide, HVDC-line miles are at an all-time high. more...

Forty-six percent of the total U.S. adult population owns a smartphone, and 88 percent has some kind of cell phone. Today's always-on mobile consumer prefers texting to email, and email to phone or face-to-face communication. So what does this mean for utilities? Could mobility be the next killer "app"? more...

Join us for this on-demand webcast on smart grid analytics, discussing real life case studies for how analytics can change the speed of business today, allowing users to unleash their creativity and focus on what matters: data-driven insights that benefit the business. more...

Cyber security is one of the top concerns for utilities that are implementing a smart grid network solution. Consumer privacy and data integrity are critical. The good news is that industry leaders have established proven processes and procedures to mitigate threats, improve resiliency and reduce risk. Join this discussion on how BC Hydro has applied both network and application layer security to bulletproof their multi-service smart grid infrastructure for their 1.8 million meter AMI deployment. more...

Learn how utilities are realizing the full potential from new customer data in this free Executive Insights webcast, which will include lessons from utilities in the field, as well as an overview of results from the Utility Analytics Institute's Annual Customer Analytics Report. more...