Newton-Evans Research Company, Inc.

Tracking Study Finds Increased 2010 CAPEX and O&M Budgets for Smart Grid-Related Automation and Transmission Categories

February 25, 2010 —Ellicott City, Maryland. The Newton-Evans Research Company today announced the publication of its third study in the multi-year tracking research program looking into electric power utility CAPEX budgets related to smart grid investments and infrastructure spending plans.
Findings from the January 2010 Newton-Evans global tracking study of electric power transmission and distribution investment are somewhat positive, compared with the two earlier tracking studies conducted in 2008 and 2009. Each of five “smart grid” component areas, plus transmission and distribution infrastructure development, has been reported by utilities located in more than 25 countries to more likely be either “increased” or “unchanged” rather than “decreased” from June of last year. The highest percentages of officials reporting increases were in the areas of protection and control, and transmission infrastructure CAPEX budgets. Continue reading Utility CAPEX Report Published from the January 2010 Newton-Evans Study of Electric Power T&D Investment

February 24, 2010 marks the publication launch date for our newest CAPEX tracking study, an update to the July 2009 study.  We are pleased to announce the publication of this newest (and best) of the series to date.  Still priced at only $495.00, this 90+ page report encompasses findings from utility officials throughout North America and in more than 25 countries from throughout the world.  The new edition includes information about relative market size estimates for major smart grid building blocks, including transmission and distribution network control systems, protection and control systems, substation automation and integration, distribution automation and advanced metering infrastructure as well as for transmission and distribution infrastructure.

Please click over to our “Reports” page to order this publication and have it available via PDF download immediately.   The report is targeted to the information requirements of T&D automation and infrastructure equipment manufacturers, utility smart grid teams, industry consultants and management consulting services and the investment banking community.

Global CAPEX and O&M Expenditure Outlook for Electric Power T&D Investments: 2010-2011 Funding Outlook for Smart Grid Development - Based on January 2010 Survey Results is the third in our smart grid re-investment tracking series of market-based reporting.

With a warm welcome to our newest report clients from China, United Arab Emirates, Czech Republic, and Japan, along with assignments from several of our long-term North American and European clients, Newton-Evans staff is keeping up with the workload despite two record blizzards affecting day-to-day life and work in the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. over the past week.

Our client-focused research activities over the first six weeks of 2010 have included topics ranging from distribution automation, to DMS, an update on demand response, plans for substation automation, a review of apparatus monitoring and diagnostics, to a synopsis of legacy electric utility application software market size and shares.  In addition, the company is focused on two multi-client studies:  First, the newest round of CAPEX studies, with participation and assistance now obtained from utility officials in more than 25 countries. Secondly, a new study of transmission planning in the USA and Canada will soon be available.

Some interesting electric power marketplace facts uncovered during the early weeks of 2010 include:

• Size of the global installed base of large power transformers
• Number of large power plants in countries around the world – to accompany our country-specific substation counts
• Extent of Industrial power delivery micro-grids
• Extent of intelligent electronic devices being deployed for distribution network automation.

Continue reading Off to a Fast Start: Newton-Evans tackles 2010’s initial array of assignments

Initial findings from the January 2010 Newton-Evans global tracking study of electric power transmission and distribution investment are somewhat positive, compared with the most recent tracking study (July 2009). Each of five “smart grid” component areas, plus transmission and distribution infrastructure development, has been reported by utilities located in more than 25 countries to more likely be either “increased” or “unchanged” rather than “decreased” from January of last year. The highest percentages of officials reporting increases were in the areas of protection and control, and transmission infrastructure CAPEX budgets. The biggest decrease in CAPEX outlays for 2010 is reported to be in distribution infrastructure, based on the first 50 replies received and tabulated. Continue reading Initial findings from the January 2010 Newton-Evans Study of Electric Power T&D Investment

After months of internal debate and consideration of proposals from GE and Toshiba, Areva’s top tier of executives have decided to keep the $7 billion-plus T&D business under French control. AREVA’s Supervisory Board met on November 30, 2009 to examine the bids. After review, the Supervisory Board asked the Executive Board to begin exclusive negotiations with Alstom/Schneider.

The consortium offered 2.29 billion Euros in equity value, i.e. 4.09 billion Euros in enterprise value. The bid does not include any requirement for a seller’s warranty but includes a buyer’s commitment to maintain all European sites for a 3-year period.

To ensure that all AREVA T&D team members are integrated properly, Alstom/Schneider have also agreed to offer to all European employees a similar position in the same geographic area, at an equivalent qualification level and without loss of compensation or seniority.

Finally, unless the economic environment deteriorates significantly, the buyers made a commitment not to implement any layoff program except for voluntary terminations. There are still many unresolved issues including these: Continue reading Areva T&D Apparently To Remain in French Hands After All

As many regular readers of Newton-Evans’ reports already know, there are three major contenders for the $7 billion Transmission and Distribution business units of Areva Corporation. These are the American firm General Electric, the French corporate combination of Alstom and Schneider Electric, and the Japanese company, Toshiba.

Newton-Evans Research believes the greatest benefit to the electric power industry may result if General Electric’s offer becomes the winning bid. The reason: Areva T&D fills several product/equipment gaps in GE’s T&D product line and related automation offerings. A successful acquisition by General Electric would provide the firm with world-leading combined market shares in substation automation, protection and control and T&D control systems (energy management and SCADA). GE would become a major player in several growing portions of the transmission equipment business, establishing a stronger foothold in the North American and international transmission market segments described below. Together these segments are worth $25-40 billion on a worldwide basis. Areva T&D earned about $3.5 billion in HV equipment sales in 2008-2009. Continue reading Potential Synergies of an Areva T&D Acquisition by General Electric: Why Alstom-Schneider and Toshiba are Also in the Bidding

The newest study of electric power grid protection and control, published by Newton-Evans Research on October 30, 2009 is now available for on-line purchase. The 81 page report is based on extensive surveys of protection and control engineers and P&C management from around the world. The survey was designed by engineers to include study of key topics of interest to the P&C community. Issues covered in the study  include equipment/device issues; tripping and control practices, settings and analysis, testing frequencies and methods.

One theme that emerges from the varying responses is that there is no particular “right” way or “wrong” way to go about designing and implementing a particular relay scheme. Some utilities design schemes in a certain way, while others do it another way. What our project manager labels “Philosophy of Engineering” is evident in this study, especially in the choices made by P&C engineers as they apply relays to their systems.

This report includes more respondent comments than any previous relay survey conducted by Newton-Evans. We encourage you to read through these list compilations, as there is a wealth of information contained therein. What is a major issue for one engineer is not even a concern for another engineer.

As one example of utility diversity, it is fascinating to see in Section D: Strategy/Policy Issues the variety of ways Utilities are structured to handle the responsibilities of their Relay Organization, as well as to review the tactics used to attract and retain the next generation of relay engineers. Some Utilities have extensive training programs for young talent, while many do nothing or do not even recognize it as a potential problem. Continue reading Critical Issues In Protective Relaying: Engineering Perspectives From 24 Countries

Chuck Newton moderated  a well-received session on Demand Side Management and Energy Efficiency Technologies for this New York City conference held on October 27th and 28th. The conference was hosted by the Spintelligent Company, publisher of Metering International.

The panel members for this session included Ron Zimmer, CEO of Ottawa-based CABA – the Continental Automated Buildings Association, Bill Scheffler, Director of North American Sales and Business Development for Sigma Designs, parent of  Z-Wave Alliance in California, and Margaret Jolly, Manager of Distributed Generation Programs for Consolidated Edison in New York City.  Ron Zimmer’s talk focused on understanding the evloution of the connected home market.  Bill Scheffler discussed how we can take energy management beyond the meter.  Margaret Jolly gave a presentation on ConEdison’s very strong DG initiatives.  The audience of about 110 officials from utilities, consulting firms, smart grid services providers and regulatory bodies posed several questions to the speakers and good give-and-take discussions ensued.

For more information visit www.smartgridcareers.com or www.spintelligent-events.com.

By Charles W. Newton, CEO Newton-Evans Research Company, Inc.

2009 Electric Power Transmission and Distribution (T&D) Investment Adversely Affected by Economic Downturn According to Newton-Evans Study. In spite of the push for smart grid investments and availability of stimulus funding, some large T&D projects scaled back or delayed. Total Spending for T&D Equipment in the U.S. Down 15-25% Year-to-Date.

The majority of the large public and private utilities participating in the most recent Newton-Evans CAPEX Outlook study are poised to continue many of their long-term capital investment programs as had been originally planned back in January of 2008. However, in several instances, these capital intensive projects have been deferred from their initial planned start-up dates for from three to nine months, or even longer, with some plans pushed back late into 2010 or into 2011. Continue reading 2009 Electric Power Transmission and Distribution (T&D) Investment Adversely Affected by Economic Downturn According to Newton-Evans Study

An article by Newton-Evans CEO Charles Newton titled Thinking Smart: The Outlook for Spending on Smart Grid Technologies in 2009 and Beyond was recently featured in Volume 9 of the Energy and Utilities Project magazine, an mThink publication sponsored by IBM. The majority of the article summarized the spending outlook for eight major components of the smart grid: control systems, smart grid applications, substation automation programs, substation IEDs and devices, AMI/AMR, protection and control, distribution network automation, and telecommunications infrastructure. Additionally, Mr. Newton provided a general picture of the types of initiatives that need to be taken by individual utilities on a case by case basis to put smart grid technology to work for them:

“I have often compared the evolution of the smart grid to the iterative process of building the international space station: a long term strategy, a flexible planning environment, responsive changes incorporated into the plan as technology develops and matures, properly phased.What function we might need is that of a skilled smart grid architect to oversee the increasingly complex duties of an effective systems planning unit within the utility organization.”

To obtain a copy of The Energy and Utilities Project 2009 visit www.UtilitiesProject.com and sign up for online membership.