Electric Energy T&D - Index

Electric Energy T&D - EE Magazine March / April 2009 - Index

GRIDLINES TM
GRIDLINES TM
As you read this, already the second quarter
of the year will be well under way, and we
should be starting to see not only more
details about how and when the looming
economic challenges we are all facing will
be addressed, but also how our industry
will fare in that process. It seems that
everyone I talk to these days has passionate
and deep-seated feelings about how to fix
the economy, often emanating from widely
polarized positions. However, we have some
of the best minds in the world working on it,
and I for one, remain optimistic that we’ll
pull out of this slump and regain the higher
ground as the balance of 009 unfolds. But,
however it finally turns out, and whatever
the time frame, it seems likely that major
changes are afoot.
A common element of even the most
divergent views is that an unprecedented
level of investment is warranted in both
energy and conventional infrastructure,
regardless of how it is ultimately financed
and carried out. Needless to say, these
two areas – energy and infrastructure – go
hand-in-hand, and both are clearly in need
of a massive rejuvenation after decades
of neglect and unrealistically deferred
attention. I suppose one could say that it’s
finally time to pay the piper, but the size of
the task – both in resource and economic
terms – is daunting, to say the least.
One piece of good news is that most industry
analysts, investors and others I’ve spoken
with recently agree that the energy and
utilities sector is probably better positioned
to withstand the sluggish economy than
practically any other major vertical market –
at least for the near-term, but quite possibly
in the longer term as well. The very fact that
electric power is so vital to our economy, our
security and especially our quality of life,
portends a fundamental need for investment
that simply cannot be overstated.
As you probably know, it has been widely
reported that critical grid transformation
investments are probably in the $1.5 to $
trillion range over the next ten years, but
even that level of commitment may prove
insufficient to keep power flowing smoothly
unless we start taking bold steps toward
shoring up the elements that are among the
most critical and vulnerable in our decaying
T&D infrastructure.
But there’s also more good news: Now that
most utilities have returned to core business
– following a rather disturbing foray into nonregulated
businesses a decade ago when
deregulation was the hot topic – investors
are once again turning to utilities; not just
as a safe, stable environment, but also as a
rich field of new and exciting opportunities
to move toward a more sustainable and
secure energy future. Moreover, having
long been a safe haven during economic
downturns, utilities are once again drawing
interest from the investment community.
This renewed interest includes not only
large institutional investors and venture
capital firms but also smaller, industryspecific
firms and individuals alike. With
such a pronounced emphasis, it’s hard to
imagine how our recovery could possibly
NOT include a huge boost for longstanding
energy supply, delivery and efficiency goals
– many if not most of which have been
delayed for far too long.
As you probably noticed from our cover and
table of contents, this issue is primarily
focused on Geospatial, Mobility & Field
Automation applications, and among the
4 I March-April 2009 Issue
Michael A. Marullo, Editor in Chief
welcome to the march/april 2009
issue of Electric Energy T&D!
key areas of investment being considered
within the context of the economic recovery
is the creation of a National GIS database.
And none other than the man who is virtually
synonymous with geospatial technology
– Jack Dangermond, president and CEO of
ESRI – spearheads this bold initiative.
You will learn a lot more about the
architectural structure, salient benefits –
and even the estimated cost – of a National
GIS in the second installment of our 009
Automation/IT Leadership Series interview
with Jack Dangermond and Bill Meehan,
the latter being the person responsible
for overall corporate direction for ESRI’s
infrastructure industries, including electric
and gas utilities, transportation, water and
telecommunications.
This issue also offers a diverse collection
of articles and features that cut across
the entire energy/utility market landscape.
These range from insights into major
Clean Tech projects among the largest of
utility enterprises – featured in our second
LightsOn™ installment – to innovative
product, system, service and application
articles designed to enrich your own work
experience, whether as a supplier, user,
consultant or third-party participant.
Judging by the editorials contained within
the covers of this issue, it should be clear
to even the most casual observer that there
is a lot of innovation going on and that the
solutions such innovations produce are in
higher demand today than perhaps ever
before. Our future is now; it starts today, so
let’s all do our part to make sure we get on
with it sooner rather than later… tomorrow
might be too late. – mike marullo