Industry Highlights

Is a catastrophe fund the answer to California utilities’ fire exposure problem?  Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t, but it’s the most promising solution I’ve heard so far. The Catastrophe Fund [...]

Proactive outage management is far more efficient and effective than reactive tactics.  Obviously, step #1 of being proactive is having an emergency plan in place, but that simply represents [...]

As California has shown, battling forest fires is clearly easier said than done, but utilizing a so-called mesh network can help improve the effectiveness of these efforts.  This type of network [...]

I recently came across an excellent case study of a multi-year water utility emergency planning initiative, and I thought it was a great overview of how a typical water and wastewater utility [...]

Training simulations that incorporate elements of virtual or augmented reality might be the next great frontier for electric, water and gas utility emergency preparedness.  This type of [...]

The U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) launched an extremely detailed and comprehensive radiation preparedness webpage in April 2019, designed to educate emergency [...]

Scientists have recently discovered that volcanic gas clouds can travel for miles and reach speeds of 400 miles per hour by essentially riding on air cushions, dramatically increasing the [...]

Mobile GIS (geographic information system) technology can make life easier for utility field crews during “blue sky days” and emergency situations.  This type of GIS deployment [...]

According to a recent simulation-based analysis, good old fashioned physical barriers like fences, concrete walls and armored shielding are better than high-tech solutions when it comes to power [...]

Natural gas delivery was brought to a screeching halt for customers of MN-based Xcel Energy due to the extreme cold from the January 2019 polar vortex.  It just goes to show that although many of [...]