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Transmission

Ti: The Transmission Line Inspection Robot

Managing Overhead Transmission Lines

EPRI developed Ti, a robot capable of crawling over conductor shield wires and harvesting power from ambient energy sources to support autonomous, high-fidelity condition assessment.
Byline: 

Andrew Phillips

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The Long and Short of Grid Congestion

FTRs make hedging possible, but can PJM ensure full funding without playing favorites?

Financial traders believe PJM’s proposal discriminates since they are more likely to hold counter-flow FTRs.
Byline: 

Bruce W. Radford

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Improving Performance in Publicly Owned Utilities

Consistently setting, measuring, and updating quantitative performance metrics should be a central feature of any program.

Modern performance-management practices can – and should – be applied to public and private utilities alike.
Byline: 

Sonia Aggarwal and Michael O’Boyle

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Harbinger or Anomaly?

As it becomes more routine for developers to offer cost containment commitments, it will become increasingly difficult for RTOs to ignore the cost impact of proposals.

Are recent transmission developer selections based on cost containment a harbinger of the future or just an anomaly?
Byline: 

Phillip Lookadoo and Jamie Jackson

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Grid Neutrality

Five Principles for Tomorrow’s Electricity Sector

Just as net neutrality seeks to maintain a fair and open Internet, the concept of grid neutrality emphasizes a fair and open electricity network.
Byline: 

Jenny Hu, Shayle Kann, James Tong & Jon Wellinghoff

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The Rise and Fall of Big Transmission

The alternatives may make more sense.

After 10 years of dramatic announcements and proposals, the reality today is that Big Transmission has fallen and it won't be getting up - not even for the Clean Power Plan. And the fall of Big Transmission is not a public policy failure. Rather, it never did make sense.
Byline: 

Steve Huntoon

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Regional Economic Benefits

Why are they ignored in transmission planning?

Why is there is there so much controversy about investments in transmission and distribution? We suggest it’s because the benefits are poorly understood – or even ignored.
Byline: 

Sam Flaim and Loren Toole

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Distribution Optimization: Ready for Takeoff

Part 2: Key choices on the way forward.

Integrated Distribution Planning (IDP) – much like its bulk power system cousin, Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) – provides a useful starting point for regulators and utilities to begin thinking about how to optimize the distribution system.
Byline: 

Sonia Aggarwal, Robbie Orvis and Michael O’Boyle

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Distribution Optimization: Ready for Takeoff

Part 1: How markets today are out of sync.

The time has come to consider options for optimizing distributed energy resources, with the intent of supporting a least-cost, reliable, and clean system that delivers more choice and control for customers.
Byline: 

Sonia Aggarwal and Robbie Orvis

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