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Energy Efficient Transformer Selection Implementing Life Cycle Costs and Environmental Externalities
The goal of this article is to encourage electric utilities and potential investors to purchase and install high-efficiency distribution transformers where they are cost-effective. This paper proposes a methodology that implements the complex economic analyses needed to accurately determine the emissionreduction potential of high-efficiency distribution transformers. This methodology properly introduces the environmental cost into the life cycle cost (total owning cost) calculations implemented by electric utilities, and its results are compared to the classical total owning cost (without environmental cost), indicating the importance of environmental aspects of transformer economy evaluation, which may affect significantly the currently-employed transformer purchasing policy in the near future. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis of the various factors involved in the transformer life cycle cost is implemented, factors such as the transformer loading profile, the specific characteristics of the network where the transformer is installed and the uncertainty of the environmental cost impact on the final energy.
Submitted by Hans De Keulenaer
View paper (pdf)
Comments on the Push for Nuclear Power
The Construction Centre warned that with the skills shortage already affecting the building industry there was a significant risk that the employment for the new power stations could come from abroad. Only one nuclear power station is built every year, worldwide and the technology continually developing. Britain last commissioned a reactor in 1994 and The Construction Centre highlighted its concern that the jobs may go to people outside of the UK. Read More...
Business big shot: John McAdam
Business big shot: John McAdam - Times OnlineBorn and educated in Ambleside, Cumbria, Dr McAdam has maintained his links with the North West and will take up the chairmanship of United Utilities, one of the region's biggest companies, this summer.
Does everyone in your company advocate what you do?
In organisations of over 1000 people, pride in their employer drops to only 38% compared to 60% for people in organisations under 100 people. These were the findings of an Interbrand survey in April 2007
How sustainable is a business where less than half the employees if asked in the pub, would recommend the products / services to a friend or acquaintance? This attitude must show through to customers.
How much more successful would these organisations be, if they managed to engage just 60% of their staff to ’Deliver’ their services by virtue of being proud of what they do in the context of their market place?
Positive attitudes are harder to foster than the viral negativity spread by bad apples. There is another days work in exploring the impact of negative individuals on team performance - Sir Clive Woodward praised highly the virtues of having people in a team who default to positive attitudes and behaviors when under pressure in England’s World Cup winning team.
Interbrand go on to conclude that to build pride in the organisation you need to:
* support individuals in making a difference and
* create a culture of delivering high standards for the customer.
If forced to choose, Interbrand would aim for the culture of high standards for the customer first, based on the performance of those companies. That people will be happy to endorse their company to anyone when they are confident that their products and services are among the best or the best in the market should come as no surprise.
A strong measure of your performance standards is the simple survey of employees to determine if:
* they are proud to work for their company
* they would happily recommend your products / services to a friend.
Analyse the results, involve and engage employees in designing and taking actions to make them comfortable to advocate your company. You will then have engaged a key stakeholder and have an action plan that, well executed, should improve performance and increase the long term sustainability of your organisation.
Much to do...
Skills shortage in UK construction
Skills shortage in UK construction industry is 'serious'
The UK's construction industry is under threat from a severe skills shortage, it has been claimed.
According to Brian Berry, director of external affairs for the Federation of Master Builders (FMB)
Mr Berry added that the UK hadn't seen such a high level of building activity "since the end of the Second World War".
He commented: "There is a serious skills shortage and that is why migrant workers are important in filling the gap.
"We need 87,500 new people to go into the construction sector every year from now until 2011 to meet current demands.
"Britain is experiencing the highest level of building activity it has seen since the end of the Second World War."
UK Property News posted on 14/03/2008
Site Waste Management Plans
Construction firms are being urged to take early action on waste before the planned enforcement of Site Waste Management Plans (SWMPs) before 6th April 2008. the date when the regulations come in to force. Read More....
Morrison Utility Services sold for £135m - 07/03/2008 - Contract Journal
Morrison Utility Services sold for £135m - 07/03/2008 - Contract JournalMorrison Utility Services has been sold for £135m, the buyer being a combination of two private equity firms, Cognetas and Englefield Capital.
MUS has 3,500 employees working throughout the UK. The business is active in the electricity, gas, telecommunications and water sectors.
MUS’s services are centred on the provision, replacement, repair and maintenance of utility infrastructure.
Its management team will stay on board.
Charles Morrison, managing director of MUS, said: “We will continue to retain focus and develop within a sector that has exciting growth prospects.”
The seller was AWG, the utility group previous known as Anglian Water. AWG bought Morrison for £260m in 2000, but subsequently felt that it paid £130m too much because of the figures it was presented with. Legal battles followed, with AWG claiming that it hadn’t acquired what it thought it was getting.Wow...
Colourful idea sparks renewable electricity from paint
Swansea University - Latest Research"One of our Engineering Doctorate students was researching how sunlight interacts with paint and degrades it, which led to us developing a new photovoltaic method of capturing solar energy.
Cabinet Secretary announces phasing out of bottled water across Government estate
Thursday 6 March 2008 13:20
Cabinet Office (National)
Cabinet Secretary announces phasing out of bottled water across Government estate
The use of bottled water for meetings and other official business is to be phased out across the whole Government estate.
Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell today wrote to the head of every Government department suggesting they should replace bought-in bottled water with tap water for all meetings in future.
A number of departments have already stopped using bottled water for official meetings but the proposal is to extend the 'tap water only policy' throughout government departments.
The new policy is expected to come into effect by the summer.
Sir Gus said:
"The Government is committed to sustainable operations across its estate and I have made this issue one of my key priorities for the Civil Service.
"Today's announcement is a small part of a much bigger programme of action in this area."
Notes to Editors:
1) A number of Government departments and agencies, including Defra, the Food Standards Agency and the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, have already made the switch from serving bottled water to tap water at meetings.
2) In the last year that Defra used bottled water (2006), caterers supplied 12,600 bottles to the department.
3) Tap water requires around 300 times less energy than bottled water (for packaging and transport) and does not leave bottles to be disposed of.
No room for let up in the battle against litter says Minister
Environment Minister Jonathan Shaw today urged the public and local authorities to continue the fight for cleaner streets as he published a new environmental survey.
Street Works and Asset Management Solutions
Symology delivered a test system. This exercise was spearheaded by National Grid, as part of a collaborative arrangement with Symology. National Grid led a team, which also included Thames Water, Wales & West Utilities, United Utilities, Northern Gas Networks and Fulcrum Connections. The London Borough of Camden also took part in the exercise. Read More
National Schedule of Rates
The first National Schedule of Rates was launched in response to the Government's legislation on competition in the public sector.
Together with the appropriate contract conditions, The National Schedules allow customers to issue a series of works orders, confident that the charges for the work will be based on a pre-determined and agreed basis of measurement and pricing.
The National Schedules of Rates are a library of items, all priced and conforming in general to the classification and description requirements of the Standard Method of Measurement, 7th Edition, used to estimate. Further the National Building Specification is used by the civil section for design resulting in a standard co-ordinated project information delivery process. Saving time and money.
The National Schedules are republished annually incorporating development and price changes. Price updating is based on re-appraisal of material, labour and plant price movements on an individual item basis. Basic prices for material and labour are also available.
The Civil Minor works contract is based on the National Schedule of Rates Together with the NEC contract terms and conditions.
Note: National schedule of Rates for Roadworks
The Road Works Schedule – This Schedule of Rates has been jointly sponsored by the National Schedule of Rates and Carillion for use in both the public and private sectors. This is the second Schedule of Rates to be published by the NSR as a joint venture with PSA Specialist Services and their successors Carillion and it is hoped that it will produce benefits for both clients and contractors concerned with roadworks.
NSR Management, Suppliers of The National Schedule of Rates, Roadworks Schedule
Electricity companies face a new windfall tax.
The heads of the biggest gas and electricity companies are being ordered by the Government to hand over part of their multi-billion pound profits - or face a new windfall tax.
The Sunday Telegraph has learnt the chief executives of the utility giants have been summoned to Downing Street and given a dressing-down over the soaring sums being made from millions of customers.
They are being told that, unless they agree to subsidise a new nationwide "fuel poverty" scheme aimed at the 4.5 million poorest households, a levy will be put on their profits. It is understood that the fuel poverty programme is to be unveiled by Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, as part of the Budget on March 12.
The Government has moved to curtail what is increasingly seen as "excessive profiteering" by the utilities industry, with customers having to pay soaring household gas and electricity bills.
Read More...Telegraph
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