UFTO Bulletin #10

July 27, 1995

To: UFTO Subscribers:

. . in this issue: . . . . . . . . .

1. The final UFTO report for SANDIA NATIONAL LABS is enclosed. Make certain your industrial marketing people take a good look at it, along with everybody else. There’s tremendous expertise here in robotics, reliability, processes, manufacturing, renewables, etc. etc.(Here’s a mischievous thought — do reps ever call on their own utility, and treat it like any other major customer? Just think of all the process, materials, etc. knowledge they have that a utility’s operations could benefit from.)
2. The latest on Idaho National Engineering Lab (INEL)…….
   – I’ll be visiting there on August 21 and 22, for the full UFTO treatment.
   – A bit more detail about the Intelligent Distribution Management System (IDMS) is attached. (I’d been calling it IDS.) The people at INEL say they’ve built a next-generation SCADA system that is way ahead of anything currently available. You and your company’s experts will be the judge. Don’t hesitate to call them up and get started. They have a full system in operation, and will be taking it apart in October to do the actual installation, scheduled to take until March 1996. So, you might get a better show-and-tell in September, though no doubt they’ll be able to demonstrate the functionality in later months.
3. I went to the Utility Battery Group (UBG ) meeting and the 5th International Conf. on Batteries for Utility Storage. Just half of the UFTO utilities are active in the UBG, tracking developments closely.
   What are the rest of you doing in this area? So much of the attention to batteries is focused on EVs that potentially significant developments in power quality, UPS, and T&D system enhancement can get overlooked. (One factor–too often “power quality” people don’t talk to “storage” people.) Vendors are taking orders for all kinds of systems, and more are in development.Let me know if you want info from the conferences, and we’ll try to arrange something. One bit of information you may want to have– the UBG is going to incorporate. They’re establishing a new membership policy, and they’re gearing up to deliver some informational products. Utilities can join for $1,000 .

   The Sandia report discusses the DOE utility battery program (see page 4).

4. Reminder: DOE’s Annual Peer Review of the Superconductivity Program for Electric Systems Alexandria VA, August 1,2.

Also, Sandia is hosting a Joint US/Russian workshop on Fuel Cells, Sept 26-28. Let me know if you didn’t get a copy of the announcement, and if you want me to attend on your behalf (as part of UFTO, or separately).

EdB