Utility Infrastructure
New Orleans Agency: Weather's Warmer, Stop Running the Water
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Stop running the water. That’s the message New Orleans officials are telling city residents, now that temperatures are above freezing. The New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board urged residents Wednesday to “immediately turn off their faucets to conserve water,” after many ha..
Illinois Utility Issues Water Boil Order
BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) — Numerous water main breaks in the metro-east area near St. Louis has resulted in a boil order for most of St. Clair County and parts of Monroe County in Illinois. Illinois American Water on Wednesday issued the boil order for most of its metro-east service area, which includ..
Arizona Utility Sending Crews to Puerto Rico
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona’s largest electric utility is sending crews to help restore power to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico. Arizona Public Service Co. says 50 power line workers and support staff are heading to the U.S. territory in the Caribbean early this month. The company has already sent heavy ..
Con Edison of New York Names Cawley President
Con Edison Co. of New York, Inc., a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc., has named Timothy P. Cawley president. Cawley replaces Craig Ivey, who retired after eight years as president of the company. “Tim is a proven leader in safety and reliability, with expertise in our operations and an unwav..
Unique Undergrounding Program Reduces Outages, Maximizes Response Time
In late August, Hurricane Harvey devastated Houston and other areas in Southeast Texas, leaving more than 750,000 customers without electric power. Immediately after Harvey, Hurricane Irma struck Florida, leaving much of the state and more than 6 million customers in the dark. Discussions about con..
PPL Corporation Makes Leadership Changes
PPL Corporation today announced it is promoting Assistant Treasurer Tadd J. Henninger to the position of vice president and treasurer effective Jan. 1, 2018. In addition, the company announced that current vice president-Investor Relations and treasurer, Joseph P. Bergstein, Jr., will become vi..
Aqua America Chief Environmental Officer Appointed to Pennsylvania Lead Task Force
Aqua America’s Chief Environmental Officer Chris Crockett has been appointed to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Lead Task Force Advisory Committee, established by the Joint State Government Commission, the primary non-partisan research and policy development agency for Pennsylvania’s General Asse..
Pennsylvania American Water Acquires McKeesport Wastewater System
Pennsylvania American Water, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Water, has completed the acquisition of the wastewater system assets of the Municipal Authority of the City of McKeesport (MACM). The purchase price is approximately $159 million. The transaction marks the first acquisition complete..
New Jersey: Atlantic City Water Works Won’t be Sold
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey officials say Atlantic City’s water utility will not be privatized. Former U.S. Sen. Jeff Chiesa (Key-EH’-sah) said Wednesday the state will not seek to sell the utility. There had been speculation that the state, which had seized control of Atlantic City’s as..
Indiana Utility Commission Chairman to Retire in January
NDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The chairman of the Indiana commission that oversees utility companies is retiring after less than a year on the job. Gov. Eric Holcomb announced Monday that Jim Atterholt will retire on Jan. 12 as chairman of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. Holcomb had appointed Atte..
Portland Water Bureau Proposes Settlement with Ratepayers
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The city of Portland has reached a proposed $10 million settlement with water and sewer ratepayers who questioned spending ratepayer money on non-water-related programs. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that the Portland Water Bureau and an attorney for ratepayers on Friday an..
Aqua America CEO Named Chairman of the Board
Aqua America Inc. has elected President and CEO Christopher H. Franklin chairman of the board, effective Jan. 1, 2018. Franklin became CEO in July 2015 and has served on the board of directors since October 2015. He succeeds Nicholas DeBenedictis, former CEO, who will continue to serve on the board..
Regulators Approve Utility's Rate Increase to Recoup Infrastructure Costs
The Maine Water Company (Maine Water), a subsidiary of Connecticut Water Service, Inc. (Connecticut Water), today announced that the Maine Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) has approved a water rate increase for customers of Maine Water’s Biddeford and Saco Division, which serves 16,500 customers i..
CPS Energy' COO Appointed Co-Chair of Puerto Rico's Transformation Advisory Council
The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) announced today that CPS Energy’s Chief Operating Officer, Dr. Cris Eugster, has been appointed co-chair of the Transformation Advisory Council (TAC). The TAC, comprised of 11 executive leaders from the public power and investor owned utility sec..
New Jersey American Water Names Shroba Vice President of Operations
New Jersey American Water has announced that Thomas Shroba has been promoted to Vice President of Operations. Shroba is replacing Kevin Kirwan, who was recently promoted to Vice President of Operational Excellence for American Water. “Tom has the experience, determination and vision to lead our ope..
FERC Approves Oncor, Sempra Energy Merger
Sempra Energy and Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC (Oncor) today announced that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an order authorizing Sempra Energy’s acquisition of Energy Future Holdings Corp. (EFH), the indirect owner of approximately 80 percent of Oncor. On A..
Settlement Approved in Pennsylvania American Water Rate Case
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) today unanimously approved a settlement that allows Pennsylvania American Water to raise water and wastewater rates, effective Jan. 1, 2018. The primary factor behind the rate increase is the approximately $1.26 billion of investments to replace and u..
California Wildfires Prompt Talks on Tougher Utility Rules
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California utilities may face tougher safety rules for power lines, phone lines and utility poles in parts of the state most prone to wildfires. Under the proposed rules being considered Thursday by the California Public Utilities Commission, tree branches would have to be kept..
Middlesex Water Company Wins Industry Award
Middlesex Water Company has been selected a winner of the New Jersey One Water Awards. The One Water Awards recognize initiatives that exemplify the principles of the One Water approach – the belief that all water, stormwater, drinking water and wastewater has value that can be unlocked by implemen..
New White Paper Advises Natural Gas Utilities on How to Increase Customer Satisfaction
HomeServe USA has released “Securing the Future,” a white paper that examines the customer relations challenges faced by America’s natural gas utilities and offers solutions they can implement to better position themselves as a trusted partner to their customers. The white paper is authored by Timot..
Eversource Acquires Aquarion Water Company
Eversource has acquired the Aquarion Water Company, becoming the only U.S.-based electric utility to also own a water utility. With all required regulatory approvals now received, Aquarion will now operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eversource, whose footprint includes nearly 4 million electric..
Technology Helps Utility Reduce Response Time to Fix Water Main Breaks
ARCOS® LLC has implemented its ARCOS CallOut® and Scheduling solution at Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Tennessee American Water to automate how the utility’s distribution department responds to customer emergencies. For Tennessee American Water, a subsidiary of American Water, responding to emergencies i..
California Water Districts Don't Need Voter Approval on Fees
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The state’s water conservation districts don’t need the approval of property owners or voters to charge their customers fees to fund programs aimed at protecting groundwater, the California Supreme Court ruled on Monday. But the justices in a unanimous decision also said the ..
Vortex Infrastructure Rebranding Reflects Continued Growth
Vortex Infrastructure has changed its name to Vortex Companies, reflecting growth in the company’s expanding portfolio of brands, products and services for the renewal of civil infrastructure. “A lot of our growth has been market driven,” said Mike Vellano, CEO of the Vortex Companies. “As a turnke..
Con Edison Wins ReliabilityOne Award for the Northeast Region
On Nov. 29, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana, PA Consulting Group, Inc. recognized Con Edison the recipient of the 2017 ReliabilityOne™ Award for Outstanding Reliability Performance in the Northeast Region. ReliabilityOne™ Awards are given annually to utilities achieving outstanding reliability perfor..
ACWA Honors Rowland Water District
The Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) has awarded its Huell Howser Best in Blue Award to the Rowland Water District for its innovative OPARC Fire Hydrant Maintenance Program that provides meaningful employment opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities. The maintenance p..
Utility Fined for Gas Pipeline Safety Violations
MERRILLVILLE, Ind. (AP) — Northern Indiana Public Service Co. is paying a $900,000 fine after state regulators found that the utility failed to keep accurate maps and records of its underground natural gas lines. The settlement approved Wednesday by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission instruc..
New York Sends 72 More Utility Workers to Assist with Power Restoration Efforts in Puerto Rico
New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the deployment of 72 additional electric utility experts to Puerto Rico arriving today and tomorrow to assist with the ongoing recovery of the country’s power grid. The deployment coincides with the arrival of a barge loaded with an additional 55 uti..
Idaho Commerce Department Director to Join Utility
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho Department of Commerce Director Megan Ronk is stepping down to take a job with Idaho Power after nearly two years of leading the commerce department. Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter announced Monday that the department’s chief operating officer, Bobbi-Jo Meuleman, will take ..
Navajo Family in Utah Gets Electricity in Time for Holidays
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — For years, Thomas and Annie Hamm walked around their southern Utah home with flashlights at night, heated water on a wood burning stove and kept their food cold on ice. Sometimes, they ran an extension cord from a car battery to power a television. They had a small solar pan..
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