Oregon public power utilities Emerald PUD and the Eugene Water and Electric Board, along with Oregon electric cooperative Lane Electric, have been collaborating to develop simple, common terminology related to wildfires. The three utilities are looking to reduce public confusion during fire weather events.
Wildfires pose severe societal, economic, and personal challenges—especially when sparked by electric utility infrastructure. Fortunately, these types of fires are preventable. EGM’s Meta-Alert® Solution empowers utilities with advanced line-sensor technology and real-time analytics to detect potential ignition sources early. By enabling rapid response and enhancing situational awareness across the grid, Meta-Alert® reduces wildfire risk, protects critical infrastructure, and helps safeguard communities.
Utilities face several challenges as they address an increasing number of outages. About 83% of major U.S. power outages between 2000 and 2021 were driven by weather-related events, according to Climate Central. As customers grapple with these rising power interruptions, 65% report that they’re frustrated with utilities’ impersonal communications. However, utilities can now address this communications challenge by taking advantage of AI. Rather than simply reacting to outages as they happen, power providers can embrace intelligent, customized, and proactive messaging that humanizes these crises for their customers.
The White House Office of Management and Budget Office’s (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) on August 11 posted a notification on its regulatory dashboard that the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has sent a draft final repeal rule entitled, “Removal of National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Regulations,” to OIRA for interagency review.
Through a new power purchase agreement between Kairos Power and the Tennessee Valley Authority unveiled on Aug. 18, Kairos Power’s Hermes 2 Plant in Oak Ridge, Tenn., will deliver up to 50 megawatts to the TVA grid that powers Google data centers in Tennessee and Alabama.
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission on Aug. 14 approved a site permit for the Snowshoe Energy Storage Project, a 150-megawatt stand-alone battery storage facility proposed by Snowshoe BESS LLC.