August 2004 

Below are listed featured articles from the August 2004 issue, Vol. 57, no. 8 © 2004 Barks Publications, Inc. ... see also August 2004 departments and columns and Previous issues.

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• Electricity from the Sun - Where do we stand?    Is solar power still a shining star? While there has been agreement for decades that enough unbidden energy falls from the sun onto the earth, every hour of every day, to supply all of the needs of the planet and then some, finding the practical methods and resources needed to harness solar power on the necessary scale remains problematic. We give readers an important update on where efforts stand to make solar energy a viable option for “industrial strength” applications. Our six page article includes a list of principal institutions and agencies involved in development and application of photovoltaic technology and photographs (read an online summary)  (trilingual summary appears in the magazine) By Richard L. Nailen, RE., EA Engineering Editor

• Paths to better efficiency and productivity   Speakers and exhibitors at the Washington convention of the Electrical Apparatus Service Association in June demonstrated improved business practices. By the EA Staff

• A look at the changing electrical energy transmission operations    EA interviews the first president of the first transmission company.  Electric utility deregulation has begun to create an entirely new type of service provider: the “transmission company,” or “transco.” These organizations are formed to construct and maintain a system of substations and transmission lines to move power between sources of generation and distribution. Rates charged by a transmission company are set and administered by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, with right-of-way and construction issues regulated by the states involved. Utilities connected to a “transco” pay in proportion to their peak demand. The first “transco” in the U.S. was the American Transmission Co. (ATC) of Pewaukee, Wis., formed in 2001 using facilities formerly owned by a number of non-affiliated utilities to serve 45,000 sq. mi. of Wisconsin, Upper Michigan and Illinois. In the August issue of EA, we present highlights of a recent interview with ATC President/CEO Jose Delgado, to give our readers important insights into how these new transmission companies make decisions that affect every electrical user in a region, and also to show what they are doing to maintain and improve the portions of the world’s electrical grid that are increasingly coming under their control. By Richard L. Nailen, RE., EA Engineering Editor

• Costing service  A pickup in business may signal a time to adjust prices, but doing so without first examining costs could be a mistake  By William H. Wiersema, CPA, EA Contributing Editor

• Physician access fees   A developing trend toward "pay per see" health care plans.  By Richard B. Elsberry, EA Contributing Editor

See also August 2004's Departments, columns