Business
FERC Approves Avista, Hydro One Merger
Hydro One Limited and Avista Corporation have received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on the companies’ merger application filed on Sept. 14, 2017. “This marks another important milestone in bringing together Hydro One and Avista,” said Mayo Schmidt, President and CEO..
Raven Lining Systems, VersaFlex Complete Merger
Raven Lining Systems® and VersaFlex® Inc. today announced the companies have merged, effective Jan. 1, 2018. As part of the merger, VersaFlex’s Polyurea University will be combined with Raven Lining Systems’ Certified Applicator Program to develop an industry leading training and technical support ..
Dominion CEO: Without Deal, South Carolina Power Company Fails
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The top executive of a company looking to buy a troubled South Carolina utility says the state’s leaders can either accept the deal or watch SCANA Corp. fail. News outlets report Dominion Energy CEO Tom Farrell told the Public Service Commission on Thursday that the Virginia c..
Finisar Names New CEO
Finisar Corporation, a global technology leader for subsystems and components for fiber optic communications, announced the retirement of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jerry Rawls, and the appointment of Michael Hurlston as Chief Executive Officer, effective Jan. 11, 2018. Hurlston will also..
Pipeline H2O Announces 2018 Class
Pipeline H2O, the award-winning water technology commercialization program managed by The Hamilton Mill, has announced its 2018 class, which includes the following companies: Cerahelix – ceramic pico filtration products used for high purity filtration. Drop Water – an innovative way to make and ..
Willbros to Sell U.S. Pipeline Construction Equipment
Willbros Group, Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to sell certain U.S. mainline pipeline assets to WB Pipeline, LLC, an affiliate of Meridien Energy, LLC. Assets included in the sale consist primarily of cross-country pipeline construction equipment. Valuation is based upon independent third ..
Vortex Companies Announces Strategic Partnership with Source One Environmental
Vortex Companies today announced Source One Environmental (S1E) has agreed to be an authorized distributor of Picote Solutions products. Under the terms of the agreement, S1E will begin stocking and selling Picote Solutions products as early as February 2018. Picote Solutions systems are specifical..
Berkshire Hathaway Utility Unit Shuffles Top Executives
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Berkshire Hathaway is shuffling the executives in charge of its utility unit after promoting Greg Abel to oversee all of Berkshire’s non-insurance businesses. Abel’s promotion to vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway was announced Wednesday. Following that move, Berkshire promoted ..
Kentucky Water District Shuts off Service for Many
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky water district says it’s struggling to get water flowing to customers. A Martin County Water District Facebook post says storage tanks were drained because of several reasons, including high water usage. District office manager Joe Hammond tells The Lexington Heral..
CommScope and OFS Extend Long-Term Fiber Partnership
OFS and CommScope have entered into a new eight-year partnership to help ensure the availability of optical fiber supply to CommScope for use in its customers’ networks. “Through this agreement, CommScope secures access to a premier supply of optical fiber for development of innovative fiber cablin..
GoNetspeed Expands Fiber Optic Presence in Pittsburgh
GoNetspeed, a fiber-optic Internet service provider, today announced it has added Beaver Falls, Economy, Conway, Beaver, Monaca and Rochester, Pennsylvania, to its Pittsburgh service territory. In October 2017, the company launched its expansion efforts in the Pittsburgh area, by offering residenti..
Florida Power & Light Deploys Crews to Puerto Rico to Help Speed up Power Restoration Efforts
On Jan. 8, 2018, Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) deployed 140 additional lineworkers and support staff to Puerto Rico to help restore power to areas impacted by Hurricane Maria’s landfall. Hundreds of thousands of people remain without electric service nearly four months after the destructiv..
Louisiana Utility Regulators Looking for New Agency Chief
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana’s state utility regulatory agency is searching for a new top administrator. The Louisiana Public Service Commission is seeking candidates to be its next executive secretary, after Eve Kahao Gonzalez retired from the position, which oversees the day-to-day operation..
Missouri Senator Confirmed to State Utility Board
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri senators have confirmed appointments of two of their Republican colleagues to serve on tax and utility commissions. Both Silvey and Kraus resigned from the Senate to take the jobs. ..
Sewer Contractor Punished After Employees Showed Guns and KKK Sticker
MILWAUKEE (AP) — A Wisconsin construction company where employees displayed a Ku Klux Klan sticker and openly brandished firearms at work last month could lose some pending contracts with Milwaukee worth nearly $1 million. A panel of the Milwaukee Common Council on Thursday also considered permanen..
ALLO Acquires Glenwood Telecommunications' Operations in Nebraska Town
Nebraska-based ALLO Communications today announced the purchase of the fiber network and customer contracts of Glenwood Telecommunications’ Hastings, Nebraska operations. “ALLO looks forward to operating the fiber network to serve the customers in Hastings with exceptional service and t..
Dominion Energy to Acquire SCANA
Dominion Energy, Inc. and SCANA Corporation have reached an agreement to combine in a stock-for-stock merger, in which SCANA shareholders would receive 0.6690 shares of Dominion Energy common stock for each share of SCANA common stock. Including assumption of debt, the value of the transaction i..
Xtera Partners With Fortress Solutions to Enhance the Lifespan of Subsea Cable Systems
Xtera, a provider of innovative subsea fiber optic solutions, announced a partnership with Fortress Solutions, a leading provider of telecom equipment repair, to enhance the longevity of its cable systems. As an ISO 9001, TL 9000, ISO 14001 and R2-certified equipment repair service provider, Fortres..
GOP Senator Appointed to Missouri Utility Regulation Board
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Gov. Eric Greitens has appointed fellow Republican Sen. Ryan Silvey to the state’s utility regulation board. Greitens announced Silvey’s appointment to the Public Service Commission Tuesday, the day before the start of the 2018 legislative session. The commission regulat..
December 2017 Business News
Kubota Kubota Tractor Corporation announced it will purchase 203 acres near Edgerton, KS, where it currently leases a facility, for its North American Distribution Center (NADC). The company plans to design and build two facilities, 1 million square feet each, to expand distribution capacity and st..
December 2017 People in Business News
Core & Main Core & Main, one of the nation’s largest distributors of water, sewer, storm and fire protection products, appointed two new senior leadership team members. Tim Maynard is the new vice president of Corporate Development, responsible for pursuing and executing growth opportunities for C..
Con Edison of New York Names Cawley President
Con Edison Co. of New York, Inc., a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc., has named Timothy P. Cawley president. Cawley replaces Craig Ivey, who retired after eight years as president of the company. “Tim is a proven leader in safety and reliability, with expertise in our operations and an unwav..
CIGMAT Strives To Transfer Research To Actual Applications
Research studies performed at the University of Houston’s Center for Innovative Growing Materials and Technology (CIGMAT) are focused on maintaining energy, water and wastewater infrastructure and pipelines; developing new, smart materials for construction, maintenance and repairs; and detecting and..
PPL Corporation Makes Leadership Changes
PPL Corporation today announced it is promoting Assistant Treasurer Tadd J. Henninger to the position of vice president and treasurer effective Jan. 1, 2018. In addition, the company announced that current vice president-Investor Relations and treasurer, Joseph P. Bergstein, Jr., will become vi..
Frontier Communications Achieves Rural Broadband Milestone
Frontier Communications announced it has exceeded 2017 milestone requirements for the Connect America Fund program (CAF) in eight additional states: Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin. The Federal Communications Commission’s Connect America Fund program requi..
Aqua America Chief Environmental Officer Appointed to Pennsylvania Lead Task Force
Aqua America’s Chief Environmental Officer Chris Crockett has been appointed to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Lead Task Force Advisory Committee, established by the Joint State Government Commission, the primary non-partisan research and policy development agency for Pennsylvania’s General Asse..
Arup Names Hafiz West Coast Water Leader
Arup today announced that Sheba Hafiz, PE, has joined the firm as West Coast Water Leader, focused on client support for the firm’s growing portfolio of water projects west of the Rockies. Hafiz has 20 years of experience providing planning, program and project management, design, construction m..
Pennsylvania American Water Acquires McKeesport Wastewater System
Pennsylvania American Water, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Water, has completed the acquisition of the wastewater system assets of the Municipal Authority of the City of McKeesport (MACM). The purchase price is approximately $159 million. The transaction marks the first acquisition complete..
Indiana Utility Commission Chairman to Retire in January
NDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The chairman of the Indiana commission that oversees utility companies is retiring after less than a year on the job. Gov. Eric Holcomb announced Monday that Jim Atterholt will retire on Jan. 12 as chairman of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. Holcomb had appointed Atte..
Aqua America CEO Named Chairman of the Board
Aqua America Inc. has elected President and CEO Christopher H. Franklin chairman of the board, effective Jan. 1, 2018. Franklin became CEO in July 2015 and has served on the board of directors since October 2015. He succeeds Nicholas DeBenedictis, former CEO, who will continue to serve on the board..
- Intrepid Fiber breaks ground on fiber optic network in Superior, Colo.
- Excavator collides with I-95 overpass in Henrico, Va., causing multi-vehicle crash
- Shrewsbury, Mass., expands sewer inspections and cleaning efforts
- Two workers rescued after hours trapped in Mich. trench collapse
- Trump calls for Keystone XL pipeline revival, but developer has moved on
- Illinois overhauls Peoples Gas pipeline program, mandates focus on high-risk pipes
- Ameren Illinois to invest $140 million in natural gas pipeline replacement program
- Charlottesville, Va., to begin work on 24-inch water line for Rivanna River crossing
- Mass. governor slams Trump for ‘dangerous delay’ of $50 million in lead pipe replacement funds