In the rough-and-tumble energy biz, IT departments are paddling hard to stay afloat.
The storm that Enron ignited last fall shows little sign of abating. Information technology (IT) departments at every energy company have had to react to rapidly changing conditions, whether it be shrinking budgets or nervous workforces.
While responsive to the operational requirements of the particular systems, several new pipeline services enable generators to react more promptly to spiking electric demand.
FERC's new chairman runs roughshod over a reeling industry.
Industry hopes its centralized assets aren't in the crosshairs.
When the topic of U.S. energy security comes up, OPEC typically springs to mind. Sure enough, following the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, politicians and energy executives quickly rallied before the public for less reliance on oil supply from OPEC member nations, and for bolstering domestic energy production.
The Energy Industry Standards Board doesn't exist yet, but it's got regulators talking.
More than two years ago, I suggested in this column that regional independent system operators would likely supplant the regional reliability councils as the caretakers of electric system reliability. And that's still possible—if the ISOs move quickly to RTO status, and if the RTOs get cracking right away on adopting uniform business rules. But the FERC may get tired waiting for that to happen.
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But the standards board must surmount differences with electric brethren before repeating its gas industry success.
Perhaps the Gas Industry Standards Board (GISB) wants to tackle electricity because it doesn't have much else to do anymore in the area of gas standards.