electricity

AC vs DC/shutterstock

Perhaps Thomas Edison was right after all. As new technology develops, it's time to ask the question: should be using direct current (DC) instead of alternating current (AC) power?[read more]

Coal mine via Shutterstock

The historic shift from coal to natural gas in the U.S. electric power sector may be stalling out, according to the latest forecasts from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.[read more]

Securing our electrical grid needs to be a priority. We, as a society, should be very interested and concerned about our electrical lifeline to the world... What do we do when the things we take for granted every day are all of a sudden unavailable?[read more]

Imagine if every day when you arrived at work, you might or might not have electricity to power your laptop, which is at 33 percent battery charge. Definitely throws a wrench into your agenda. While you could call it a day and hope for the best tomorrow, the deadline still looms and you’re nowhere closer to getting done what needs to get...[read more]

First of all, Happy New Year! We're all recovering from a relaxing and, for some of us, pretty exciting holiday break, but we're psyched to be back online and amped up to help all of our readers find new, unique, exciting and effective ways to save energy over the coming year, which we hope you'll all be enjoying in cozy, healthy homes....[read more]

Pennsylvania has one year of experience with deregulation of its electricity markets.  Residential, commercial, and industrial customers can now switch to alternative electricity suppliers in a quest to manage the generation and transmission costs on their electricity bills.  With some suppliers, they can even get energy from...[read more]

Union of Concerned Scientists Image via Wikipedia A previous reprint of an article originally published in Ecocentric noted that power plants need lots of water primarily for cooling. “Several Texas power plants that rely on cooling ponds are in a tough spot because their reservoirs aren’t being replenished, and that lack of cooling...[read more]

It’s time for Canadians to focus on the urgency of making multi-billion-dollar investments to upgrade, repair and expand the electricity infrastructure across Canada. Capital investment in electricity infrastructure declined dramatically in the 1990s. After reaching a peak of $15 billion in 1991, investment fell rapidly to just $5.3 billion in 1997 as a result of overcapacity, poor economic conditions and electricity prices that had outpaced inflation as the new facilities built in the prior ten years caused rates to rise.[read more]

In addition to reducing carbon footprint, empowering customers to more cost-efficiently manage their energy usage and fueling new business opportunities, the Smart Grid offers tremendous promise in terms of improving the reliability and availability of electricity service. Increased reliance on “microgrids” is one way how.In a microgrid...[read more]

I recently recorded a 45 minute slide show about Vermont's Energy Future. I had been meaning to do this for a long time. I want to thank the people at CATV studio of White River Junction for their work and patience in recording this, and Cavan Stone for his thoughtful editing. I hope you enjoy it!The show covers Vermont Yankee issues...[read more]

One of many press releases I received this week highlighted the new Clean Energy Export Principles developed by a "multi-industry coalition, which was coordinated by the National Foreign Trade Council, and U.S. government representatives." They recommend a significantly expanded and technology-neutral effort by the US government to...[read more]

The Electricity Market Reform White Paper is scheduled to be published today, the most radical change to the industry since it was privatised 20 years ago, but business is worried that it still won't provide sufficient certainty to permit the required levels of investment. The paper is designed to shake up the way the supply industry...[read more]

Many view natural gas as the key feature of the United States' new energy economy.  Whether this is true or not is still to be determined.  What is evident, though, is that natural gas is a growing energy resource for America.  According to the latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA),...[read more]

Games are identified as one of the biggest trends for social media and mobile devices.  Gamification is called the next big thing for marketing.  Both have exciting implications for behavior change in the health care sector.  So will social games and gamification play a significant role in changing consumption behaviors...[read more]

 Ken DeFontes, President and CEO of Baltimore Gas & Electric, discusses his company’s approach to implementing smart grid technology into BG&E’s territory.Full Transcription:Justin Segall :Justin Segall here for the Daily Energy Report with Ken DeFontes, President and CEO of Baltimore Gas & Electric. Ken...[read more]