Business
California Water Service Group Named Great Place to Work® for Second Consecutive Year
For the second year in a row, California Water Service Group, the parent company of California Water Service, Washington Water Service, New Mexico Water Service, Hawaii Water Service, CWS Utility Services, and HWS Utility Services, has been named a Great Place to Work® by the Great Place to Work® In..
Black & Veatch Makes Leadership Change
Black & Veatch has named Bruce Duff Managing Director of Design-Build within its water business. Duff will be based in the Company’s Toronto metro area office. “As a variety of alternative delivery methods continue to gain traction in the industry, this leadership role was established and integrate..
Maricopa Scraps Idea of Buying Global Water Company
MARICOPA, Ariz. (AP) — The city of Maricopa has scrapped an idea to buy a private water company amid customer complaints about service interruptions and sudden spikes in water bills. The city hired Piper Jaffray, an investment bank and asset management firm, to conduct research on the possibility o..
Orange County Water District Awarded Grant to Improve Water Quality
The Orange County Water District (OCWD), in a partnership with the University of Maryland and CosmosID, Inc., has received a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant that will aid the water industry in its continued effort to improve water quality. The $100k award will be used to apply metagenomics, ..
Trial Scheduled Against Ex-Ohio Water Plant Operator
SEBRING, Ohio (AP) – A trial is still planned for a fired water plant operator charged with misdemeanors for what authorities say was his failure to notify residents of a northeast Ohio village about lead in their drinking water. The Vindicator reports that an attorney for 61-year-old James Bates, ..
Subsea Cable System Between the US and Brazil Ready for Operations
Seaborn Networks today announced its Seabras-1 subsea cable system is ready for operations. Seaborn’s Seabras-1 is a new 6-fiber pair, 72Tbps submarine cable system that is the first and only direct point-to-point system between São Paulo and New York. Seabras-1 is owned jointly by Seab..
PG&E Crews Head to Florida in Advance of Hurricane Irma
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) today announced it is sending crews to Florida help restore power to those impacted by Hurricane Irma. About 125 PG&E employees, including line workers, equipment operators, supervisors and support personnel, throughout PG&E’s 70,000-square-mile service area ..
FirstEnergy Crews Mobilize to Assist with Hurricane Irma Restoration Efforts
FirstEnergy Corp. today announced it will send nearly 900 linemen, damage assessors, electrical contractors, forestry crews and support personnel to help utilities in Florida with restoration efforts following expected power outages from Hurricane Irma. The crews are scheduled to leave ..
OFS Expands the AccuRibbon® DC Fiber Optic Cable Family
OFS announced it has expanded the AccuRibbon® DC Fiber Optic Cable product family to include fiber counts up to 864. These gel-free ribbon cables will be available in dielectric and metallic/armored versions. Currently, AccuRibbon DC cables are only offered in fiber counts up to 432. OF..
NV5 Global Acquires Marron and Associates
NV5 Global, Inc. has acquired Marron and Associates, Inc., an environmental services firm with offices in Albuquerque and Las Cruces, New Mexico. The acquisition was made entirely in cash and will be immediately accretive to NV5’s earnings. In addition to providing environmental planning, natural a..
Forterra Names New Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Forterra, Inc. today announced the appointment of Charlie Brown as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective Sept. 25, 2017. Brown is an industry veteran with over 25 years of experience driving growth and improvement at manufacturing and construction materials companies. He wi..
Greeley and Hansen Names New Co-Managing Director of Northeast Operating Group
Greeley and Hansen yesterday announced that Glenn R. DiGiovanni, P.E., CCM, has joined the firm as Co-Managing Director of the Northeast Operating Group. DiGiovanni has over 30 years of client and program management experience with the planning, design, and construction of wastewater, water, and..
Tidewater Utilities Selected to Create Delaware's First Non-Profit Utility
U.S. Senator Tom Carper joined representatives from USDA, DNREC, Clean Water Solutions and Tidewater Utilities recently to announce federal funding to support the needs of small, aging rural community wastewater systems in Delaware. The announcement was made in a press conference held at the Country..
ESCO Technologies Acquires Vanguard Instruments
ESCO Technologies Inc. has acquired the assets of Vanguard Instruments Company, a premier test equipment provider serving the global electric utility market. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Vanguard, founded in 1991 and located in Ontario, California, designs, develops and manufact..
Utilities to Conduct Storm Restoration Drill to Help Prepare Employees for Real-Life Events
Ohio Edison and Pennsylvania Power, subsidiaries of FirstEnergy Corp., have announced they will conduct a training drill this week to test the companies’ storm restoration process for when severe weather causes wide-spread power outages in the region. Designed to train employees assigned to storm o..
Florida Power & Light Mobilizes Restoration Workforce Ahead of Hurricane Irma
Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) today announced that they have mobilized a restoration workforce of more than 11,000 employees and contractors in preparation for the landfall of Hurricane Irma. The company has activated more than 20 staging sites and is already pre-positioning crews in the areas..
New Jersey American Water to Invest $2.7 Million in New Water Mains
New Jersey American Water has announced it will be investing approximately $2.7 million for the installation of new water mains in its Ocean City service area. The company will be installing approximately 10,810 feet of new main in this area, replacing water main that was installed around the 1900s ..
FERC Names New General Counsel
FERC has named James P. Danly General Counsel, effective Sept. 18, 2017. He will replace David Morenoff, who has served as General Counsel since February 2017 and will assume the position of Deputy General Counsel once the transition is complete. Danly comes to FERC from the energy regulation and l..
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Approves Sempra Energy-Oncor Merger Agreement
Sempra Energy today announced that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware has approved the merger agreement that Energy Future Holdings Corp. (Energy Future) entered into with Sempra Energy on Aug. 21, 2017. This approval is an important step in Sempra Energy’s proposal to acquir..
Algonquin Power & Utilities to Acquire St. Lawrence Gas Company
Algonquin Power & Utilities’ regulated distribution utility business, Liberty Utilities Co., has entered into a definitive agreement with Enbridge Gas Distribution Inc. , a subsidiary of Enbridge Inc., to acquire St. Lawrence Gas Company, Inc., a regulated natural gas distribution utility located in..
Ameren Corporation Donates to Hurricane Harvey Relief Efforts
As the impact of Hurricane Harvey continues throughout Texas and the Gulf Coast, Ameren Corporation is donating $25,000 to the American Red Cross to assist with relief efforts. With an eagerness to help those affected by the flooding, Ameren employees are also providing individual contributions. “A..
West Virginia American Water Acquires Queen Shoals PSD Water System
West Virginia American Water has completed its acquisition of the Queen Shoals Public Service District water system. The transaction was recently approved by the Public Service Commission of West Virginia and followed several years of discussions with the distressed public service district, which wa..
Patent Awarded for “In-place” Coating to Protect Pipes Against Water Loss Due to Leaks
Pipe Restoration Technologies, LLC has been granted U.S. patent #9744561. This patent is related to the ePIPE system of in-place pipe restoration, which provides protection to underground pipes against leaks and harmful lead and copper leaching. “ePIPE is providing superior solutions in response to..
American Water Resources Collaborates with Dispatch to Improve the Customer Repair Experience
American Water Resources has entered into an agreement with Dispatch to help deliver faster service when customers need repairs on their water and sewer service lines, in-home plumbing, and other home services covered under American Water Resources protection plans. Dispatch is an enterprise custom..
Ditch Witch, Utilicor Join Forces to Simplify Utility Repairs
Ditch Witch®, a Charles Machine Works Company, has partnered with Utilicor Technologies, Inc. to bring the benefits of advanced keyhole technology and reinstatement to contractors, municipalities and utilities globally. Due to the partnership, utility contractors will now be able to operate a nimbl..
Xylem Execs to Participate in World Water Week Forums
At World Water Week 2017 in Stockholm, Xylem today announced it will lead and participate in forums focused on accelerating the smarter management of water and wastewater. Taking place from August 27- September 1, World Water Week will center on the theme of “Water and Waste: Reduce and Reuse” and b..
Navy Awards CH2M-led Joint Venture Worldwide Energy, Water, and Utility Services Contract
The Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center in Port Hueneme, California has awarded a CH2M-led joint venture a contract for engineering and design services for energy, water and utility projects and services at Navy and Marine Corp installations worldwide. The joint ventur..
Federal Utility OKs $10.4B Budget, 1.5 Percent Rate Increase
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – A federal utility says it has included a 1.5 percent rate increase in its budget that takes effect in October. The Tennessee Valley Authority says its board approved a $10.4 billion budget and the rate increase Wednesday. The budget keeps operating and maintenance spending f..
Schonstedt to Give Away a Free Locator
Schonstedt Instrument Company has launched “The Best Picture of a Schonstedt in Action,” a social media contest designed to highlight the company’s locators. The winner will receive a free Maggie, Schonstedt’s newest magnetic locator. To be eligible, all pictures must include a Schonstedt locator (..
Robert P. Powers Named to ALLETE Board of Directors
Robert P. Powers, recently retired vice chairman of American Electric Power (AEP), has been elected to ALLETE Inc.’s board of directors, effective Aug. 23, 2017. Powers’ career in the energy industry spans 41 years through his retirement in August 2017. He most recently served as a senior adviser t..
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