Emergency unpreparedness

“Bad news comes in threes”  was an understatement this week for those of us who keep track of electrical hazards, accidents and disasters.  The recent news has featured one distressing electrical incident after another: On Monday,  10/7, a transformer exploded in a California restaurant, sending fireballs shooting through the air.  One restaurant worker suffered severe […]

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San Francisco Offers to Buy PG&E Grid

If accepted, deal would lay foundation for municipal utility in the Bay Area San Francisco has made a $2.5 billion offer to buy Pacific Gas & Electric’s grid assets within its city limits, the most concrete step yet from cities, counties and public agencies served by the bankrupt Northern California utility to lay claim to […]

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Hurricane Dorian

Electrical workers around the country team with funding efforts to provide Dorian aid In response to the widespread destruction caused by Hurricane Dorian, Atlantis, Paradise Island and Brookfield Asset Management (“Brookfield”) announced last week a $3 million pledge to benefit Hurricane Dorian relief efforts. Electrical workers from around the country are traveling to the Dorian-affected […]

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Electrocutions Strike Mining Facilities

MSHA reports two accidental electrical deaths in West Va., Louisiana In somber news, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) reported two fatalities due to electrocution in the month of August, one in West Virginia and one in Louisiana. The first, which occurred on August 7, occurred at the South Hollow Prep Plant and Loadout […]

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Jim Beam Warehouse Fire

Kentucky site containing over 40,000 barrels of bourbon destroyed A Kentucky warehouse operated by bourbon maker Jim Beam was set ablaze July 2, combusting around 45,000 barrels of spirits and ultimately collapsing around 11:30 PM. The Beam complex included two warehouses, the second of which also caught fire but was contained by the adept response […]

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Can CPP Rollback Bring Coal Back?

EPA officially nixes CPP…and other news in utilities, renewable energy The Environmental Protection Agency, a branch designed to protect the natural human and animal habitats of Earth, has completed one of the more controversial moves in its history. The EPA finalized the rollback of the Clean Power Plan on June 19th. In replacement, the agency […]

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Racehorse Rigging

Electrical devices used in brutal treatment of racehorses In the competitive world of horse racing, desire to win sometimes yields horrific measures. Participants resort to the use of electrical apparatus—specifically battery-powered shocking mechanisms called “jiggers”—in an effort to compel a horse’s physical ability. In the most recent instance, Australian trainer Jerrod McLean and his owner […]

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Sustainable Steel Curtain

US Steel investing major dollars in sustainable PA factory prototype Sustainable Steel? Never thought you’d hear those words, did ya? Well, it’s here. United States Steel Corporation is investing more than $1 billion in the place where its reputation was first forged more than a century ago: the Mon Valley Works facility near Pittsburgh. The […]

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Live From AWEA 2019

Windpower 2019 in Houston is incorporating more than wind Electrical Apparatus is in Houston for the country’s premier wind power event this week, and there’s plenty to see. The show has expanded each year to cover more than just the wind industry; almost all sectors of renewable energy are being represented and/or discussed this year. […]

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Metaling in NASA’s Affairs

Diving further into last week’s VOTW topic as details emerge Talk about a ‘long con’. News erupted last Thursday that aluminum manufacturer Hydro Extrusion—formerly known as Sapa Profiles, Inc. (SPI)—admitted to providing customers, the most prominent of which included U.S. government contracts such as NASA and the Department of Defense, with falsified certifications for almost […]

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