Business
Hydro One Begins Search for New CFO
Hydro One Limited today announced that Michael Vels, Chief Financial Officer, will be leaving the company effective May 19, 2017 to assume the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Empire and its wholly-owned subsidiary Sobeys Inc. “We appreciate Michael’s many con..
Google Fiber Prepares to Start Construction in Louisville
Google Fiber today announced it will soon file its first permit for building its network in Louisville. The network construction will be done in phases, which will allow a more efficient build and reduce disruption. “Many have eagerly waited to hear these words: Google Fiber is coming to Louisville..
NW Natural Hires New CFO
NW Natural has hired Frank Burkhartsmeyer to serve as the company’s new Chief Financial Officer, effective May 17, 2017. Burkhartsmeyer comes to NW Natural from Avangrid Renewables where he served as president and CEO. Previously, he was senior vice president of Finance at Iberdrola Renewables US. ..
Industry Leaders Launch Fiber Optic Sensing Association
The Fiber Optic Sensing Association, the nation’s first trade association dedicated to fiber optic sensing, launched today with a focus on educating industry, government and the public on the benefits of this cutting-edge technology. The organization was formed with the mission to provide great..
Gunman kills 2 Laclede Gas Utility Workers, Turns Gun on Self
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A gunman opened fire on two utility workers in a residential St. Louis neighborhood Thursday, killing both of them before fatally shooting himself. The shooting happened around 11:15 a.m. on the western edge of the city. Police say the gunman walked up to the two male workers for L..
Kansas Regulators Reject $12.2B Utility Merger
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – Kansas regulators on Wednesday rejected the proposed sale of the state’s largest electric company to a Missouri firm, concluding that the $12.2 billion price was too high and would leave the combined utility financially weaker than the separate companies. The Kansas Corporation ..
Utility to Put Sewer Biogas in Pipeline
NW Natural has agreed to work with the City of Portland to put renewable natural gas converted from the city’s largest wastewater treatment plant on its pipeline and into vehicles. In a vote yesterday, the Portland City Council authorized the construction of a RNG production facility at the Columbi..
Aqua Pennsylvania to Spend $300 Million on Infrastructure Upgrades
Aqua Pennsylvania today announced the company will make $292 million in infrastructure improvements in the state throughout 2017, after completing $234 million of similar projects in 2016. Multiple projects will take place in several areas across the state to improve customers’ water and wastewater ..
40 U.S. Utilities Recognized for Environmental Excellence
40 U.S. utilities have been recognized as 2017 Environmental Champions by Market Strategies International’s Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™: Residential, a nationwide study of nearly 58,000 customers among 130 of the largest residential gas and electric utility providers. The study scor..
Utility to Use Recycled Sewer Biogas in Natural Gas Pipelines
HONOLULU (AP) — Honolulu officials say they are moving forward with plans to sell biogas produced at the city’s sewage plant to Hawaii Gas Co. The gas company says it plans to spend about $5 million on equipment to clean the sewage plant’s biogas before adding it into their pipelines. It also wants..
Xylem Builds Emergency Sewer Bypass in Record Time
Xylem today announced that the company recently designed and built a major emergency sewer bypass in Memphis, Tennessee in just six days. During spring 2016, sixteen inches of rain fell on the city, half of which fell during two days. This unprecedented rainfall eroded the soil supporting a 96-inch..
Utility: Old Power Lines Under Lake Champlain to be Replaced
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) —The Vermont Electric Power Company, which distributes electricity across the state, says construction is due to begin this week to replace power lines that run beneath Lake Champlain between Vermont and New York. The cables are part of VELCO’s Plattsburgh-to-Vermont line that ..
PLCAC Works To Promote Industry
The Pipe Line Contractors Association of Canada (PLCAC) and its members generally had a good, solid year in 2016, believes the association’s President Neil K. Waugh. The PLCAC represents pipeline contractor members in labor relations with the four craft unions (whose members are involved in pipelin..
Texas Electric Regulators Nix $18B Oncor Sale
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas regulators have rejected the proposed more than $18 billion sale of Dallas-based Oncor Electric Delivery Co. to NextEra Energy Inc. The three-member Public Utility Commission of Texas on Thursday unanimously declined to accept the agreement as being in the public interest..
PECO Welcomes 12 New Apprentice Mechanics
PECO today announced they have welcomed 12 new apprentice mechanics to the company’s field force following their graduation from a comprehensive natural gas training program. The new apprentices will join the utility’s front lines – helping to ensure safe and reliable natural gas service for more th..
Woolpert Chosen to Design Sewer Rehabilitation Project
The Hampton Roads Sanitation District has selected Woolpert to provide study, design and administration services for a project to rehabilitate about one mile of sanitary sewer infrastructure in Newport News, Va. The project includes 4,800 linear feet of gravity sewer pipeline and associated manhole..
Digging Safely Starts With A Call To 811
Whether you are a professional excavator, contractor, engineer or utility owner, you play an important role in keeping people safe with every dig. Laws governing excavation vary by state, and they can be confusing. Answering the question, “Do I have to call 811?” can be difficult if you don’t unders..
Sacramento Sewer District to Pay Fine for Multiple Spills
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – A California sewer district has agreed to pay a $225,000 fine to the state for 80 spills over three and a half years, including one that dumped raw sewage into a suburban creek. The spills covered by the settlement between the Sacramento Area Sewer District and the state d..
New Jersey American Water Investing $2.5 Million in New Main Installation
New Jersey American Water is investing approximately $2.5 million to install new water mains within Rumson and under the Shrewsbury River in Rumson and Sea Bright. This project includes the installation of approximately 1,950 feet of 16-inch high-density polyethylene pipe, which will lay about 47 fe..
PLCA Draws 548 Delegates To 69th Annual Convention
The Pipe Line Contractors Association (PLCA) 69th Annual Convention was held at the Hyatt Regency in Scottsdale, AZ, with 584 attendees. Many past presidents and honorary members attended the convention, and elected officers for 2017 were announced. Robert C. Osborn, senior vice president of the Pi..
Companies Win Combined Sewer Overflow Tunnel Construction Contract
The joint venture team of The Lane Construction Corporation’s subsidiary, S.A. Healy Company, and Salini Impregilo have won a design-bid-build contract for a combined sewer overflow tunnel project in Indiana, valued at $188 million. The Three Rivers Protection & Overflow Reduction Tunnel will be lo..
Utility Worker Saves Man's Life
NEW YORK (AP) — A utility worker is being credited with saving a man who fell onto a New York City subway track just before a train pulled into the station. Cellphone video taken by a Seattle teenager shows Jonathan Kulig, of Queens, picking up a young man who had fallen off a Manhattan station’s p..
American Water Acquires Shorelands Water Company
American Water has completed its acquisition of the Shorelands Water Company, a privately owned water utility that provides water services to more than 11,000 customers in Monmouth County, N.J. The acquisition was approved by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities on March 24, 2017. The purchased ..
Power-to Gas Tech Could Be Used in NatGas Pipelines, Increase Renewable Energy
In a partnership with University of California, Irvine researchers, Southern California Gas Co. earlier this week announced that new research on power-to-gas technology shows the technique holds the ability to dramatically increase the use of intermittent renewable energy. “The ability to increase ..
Illinois American Water Employees Honored
Two Illinois American Water employees were recognized for their construction and safety efforts at the 30th Annual Peoria Area Labor Management Council and Tri-County Construction Labor Management Council award banquet on March 28, 2017. Roger Goodson, Illinois American Water’s senior manager of fi..
Illinois American Water Acquires Water System
Illinois American Water has officially acquired the Village of Sadorus water system, which will be incorporated into the company’s Champaign County District. The Village of Sadorus Board voted in favor of the sale in April 2016 and the Illinois Commerce Commission approved the sale for $240,000 on ..
New Jersey American Water Invests $4.2 Million in New Water Mains
New Jersey American Water is investing nearly $4.2 million in new water mains in its service areas in North Plainfield and Cranford. As part of the project, approximately 12,430 feet of aging water mains will be replaced with ductile iron pipes. In addition, the company will also be installing 870 f..
American Water VP to Discuss Water Infrastructure Financing
American Water today announced Jennifer Gambol, the company’s vice president and treasurer, will participate in the New York City Bar Association’s Project Finance Committee Panel on March 28 in New York, N.Y. Gambol will join other industry and government leaders on a panel to discuss the developm..
Company Helps Water Utilities Identify Leaky Pipes
FlowNetworx, an affiliate of LB Water Service, Inc., is helping U.S. water utilities find and pinpoint leaks in their distribution networks within a foot of the source, without having to dig large trenches or disrupt service to customers. The company offers leak detection, leak pi..
FTTH Council is Now the Fiber Broadband Association
FTTH Council President & CEO Heather Burnett Gold has announced that the association has launched a modernized brand that better reflects the evolution and makeup of the industry the organization represents and the consumer services its members deliver. The new brand and descriptor is “Fiber Broadba..
- 290-mile gas pipeline expansion proposed across Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina
- $227 million Garnet Valley water project advances, set to create 73,000 jobs in Nevada
- Pasadena, Calif., undergrounding project could take 500 years to finish
- Construction underway for $1.4 billion, 60-mile water pipeline in Chicago
- Worker dies after trench collapse at sewer project site in Norwich, Conn.
- Gehl and Mustang offer world’s largest skid loader
- Growing Pains and Gains
- Authorities investigating trench collapse that killed worker in Ashburn, Va.
- City of Albuquerque halts fiber optic construction in response to damage, complaints
- Pasadena, Calif., undergrounding project could take 500 years to finish