Energy and Utilities Systems software technology

The management of all aspects of complex substation automation systems is an ever growing challenge for energy and utilities customers all over the world. However, it need not be. With today’s technology innovation, there are solutions and applications that could help boost the systems.

THE CHALLENGE IN THE ENERGY AND UTILITIES INDUSTRY
With the constantly rising population, the energy and utility sector is challenged with balancing demand for energy versus a wider social and environmental issues that require transparency as well as accountability to shareholders, regulators and consumers. The same as other industries, it also faces ongoing loss of engineering knowledge because of a retiring and aging workforce.

MAINTAIN EFFICIENCY IN OPERATION IN AN INCREASINGLY REGULATED INDUSTRY
The energy and utility industry has to implement stringent, auditable document control processes to ascertain auditable compliance with industry regulations from numerous agencies. Access to accurate, reliable asset information is vital to support the initiatives and maintain profitable and efficient operations.

TECHNOLOGY TRENDS THAT ARE SHAPING THE FUTURE OF THE ENERGY AND UTILITY INDUSTRY

1. Utility business models are changing. For the most part of the 20th century, the role of utility was clear. Build out the grid and power system as an entity that is regulated to achieve economies of scale and maintain it so lights will not go out. Utilities drew regulators when they required new infrastructure and built it while earning a modest revenue. At present, much has changed. Vertically-integrated utility model has been broken up, with separate firms taking responsibility for grid, power plants and at times marketing energy to consumers.

2. Utilities are becoming more customer-centered. The fast growth in grid and home energy technologies has pressured utilities to rethink the customer relationship. Before, power organizations used to consider their consumers as just ratepayers, new home energy technologies and the shifting expectations of customers have pushed them to concentrate on individual consumers. A lot of technologies have started to offer technologies such as mobile applications which enable customers to trace and control energy usage, report outages, pay bills, receive high-bill reports and many more.

3. Utilities buying into storage. As utilities aim to optimize their distribution grids and incorporate more renewables, less technologies hold as much promise as energy storage. The promise of energy storage is the reason why more than 400 utility executives named it as their top emerging technology in a survey. The advances mark the beginnings of a new utility-scale storage chapter.

4. Utilities modernized the grid. With the new utility-scale and distributed renewable capacity on the grid, there is a growing need for utilities to update and modernize their transmission as well as distribution grids. Utilities that supply growing load centers, such as oil and gas drilling operations, already felt the need to build their transmission lines. A modernized grid should be more than installing new lines. It should be able to handle two-way power flows, whereas all the power in the system flowed one-way from a bulk power level down to the customer in the past.

5. Natural gas is growing rapidly. In the near-term, the loss of coal seems to be a gain for natural gas. As market conditions and regulations push older coal generators into retirement, utilities that are looking to add reliable capacity fast are increasingly focusing on gas plants. Solar and wind, while growing fast, still represent a considerably small slice of the fuel mix in the US and only generate electricity under specific weather conditions.

6. Renewables reach grid parity. For many years, the main argument against renewable energy was that it is not cost effective. Nowadays, that line of reasoning is getting to be more increasingly obsolete. In a lot of regions, solar and wind, particularly at utility scale are reaching grid parity and often pricing out the more traditional generation sources.

7. Decline in coal power. For a lot of power organizations and politicians, the one most noticeable trend in the energy and utility industry is the steady decline or retirement of coal-fired power plants. Around 25,000 MW of coal capacity has been retired since the year 2009. Furthermore, there are formal plans already to retire about the same amount of coal capacity by the year 2022. Environmental activism has played a significant role in this and the need to push for renewable and other clean resources other than coal all over the world.

PROVIDING SAFE AND RELIABL POWER TO CUSTOMERS
The most successful electric power utilities are the ones that could provide comparatively safe, economical and reliable power to consumers. Energy storage would be an integral factor in one’s strategy this year. It’s ready to be scaled and a critical technology for meeting the environmental challenges.

Undoubtedly, the continuous innovation and the technology advances have altered the way that energy and utility provide service to people all over the world.

Employee Retention Strategy: The Best Tips for Keeping the Best IT Professionals

Goodbyes always hurt! And, an employee leaving your organization can hurt the bottom-line too. It has the potential to decrease the morale of other employees. So, retaining your employees is an important part of managing a successful business.

And, when it comes to an IT professional, keeping him in the business is necessary because of three main reasons:

Low number of talented IT professionals with specialized skills that you require.
Stiff competition between businesses to hire the right talent.
Finding a replacement is time-consuming and costly for the business.

So, it is necessary to retain your employees and make sure that they are motivated to take your business to newer heights. Here are a couple of useful tips that should be part of your employee retention strategy:

Talent is not Enough

When it comes to making a hiring decision, do not focus on talent and skills. Remember that skills can be taught but, a bad attitude is difficult manage. If you hire an IT professional with sought-after skills but bad attitude, he will not be able to work as a team-member. It can cause problems to other employees and increase your attrition rate. So, make a hiring decision that’s good not only for your business but also for your employees.

More Money equals More Satisfaction

If you want to hire the top-rated IT professionals, you need to pay them well. Monetary satisfaction is an important aspect of the employee retention strategy. Consider this: The cost of paying a handsome salary to your current employee is lower than the cost of finding a new employee. It is because when you have to find a new employee, you have to spend money on recruitment. Also, you may lose crucial time in finding a good IT professional and it may cause a big set-back to your business.

Provide a Safe and Encouraging Environment

If your employees are constantly worried about job security, they will not be able to perform well. And, IT is a very creative-engaging field. Your IT professionals need your support in order to provide the best technological support to your business. So, create an environment where your employees can discuss their grievances with you. Also, a good office environment with proper ventilation and adequate lighting can create a great impact on employee morale.

Adopt a Proactive Approach

Providing high-scale pay to employees is not the only way to retain them. Sometimes, IT professionals crave for challenges. Look for signs that depict frustration of your employees. And, provide opportunities for change and growth because professional development is important to every employee. Also, make sure that you recognize talent and hard work. Do not shy away from rewarding your top-performers generously. It doesn’t have to be in the form of increased salary. Here are a few examples to make your employees feel special:

Appreciate the employee for his hard work and dedication.
Offer promotion and provide more responsibility.
Offer a more challenging task and provide resources to achieve it.
Provide opportunities to improve skills-set with the help of training.

If you want your IT professionals to stay with you for the long haul, you need to take care of them. Create a robust employee retention strategy and keep your people happy. Remember that your people are the most useful yet volatile aspect of your business. And, if you treat them right, they will not leave you in the lurch.

Finding a good IT professional is hard for a business. But, Optimal Infosystems make it easy for you. Get unique access to a large data-base of pre-qualified candidates that will make managing IT easy for you. Connect with us today to hire the best IT talent.

The Ulcerative Colitis Books Can Help You Get Recovered From Your Situation

The inflammatory bowel disease is generally known as ulcerative colitis. There are many people that suffer from this disease, and doctors mostly rely on powerful drugs to treat the condition. However, most drugs are associated with side effects and the success rate of these treatments is also low. If your loved one is suffering from this condition, you know the pain and distress associated with it. Often, the intestinal distress and bleeding is so heavy that it is unresponsive to standard medical therapies. In such a situation, most doctors would recommend patients to go for surgeries and their colons removed.

Symptoms Of The Condition:

It is important to understand that UC can occur anytime and about half the people with UC have mild symptoms. The most common symptoms are blood, pain in the abdomen or diarrhea. The other might include joint pain, loss of appetite, weight loss, severe tiredness, sores in the skin and even bleeding from the rectum. Doctors generally use blood tests, stool tests or endoscopy to diagnose the condition of UC. Following this, they administer patients with drugs to help them control the situation. In severe cases, doctors even remove the colon and attach an external bag for the collection of waste.

Ray Of Hope:

Many patients are unwilling to remove their colon. Failed medical therapies make them utterly frustrated and hopeless. However, good Ulcerative Colitis Books can often work as wonders for patients. These books are written in such a way so that they bring positive encouragement and hope among patients. It is important to find answers of the situation from within in order to deal with the present situation. These books also often specify magical formulas of beating UC and getting relief from the same. After all, UC is often related to stress, food, toxic relationship.

Living A Better Life:

If you or your loved ones tend to suffer from ulcerative colitis, you should definitely look for some magical books. These books will provide comprehensive guidelines on how to cope up with the present situation and deal with stress. You will better understand and manage the situation effectively with the hopes of getting relief from it. It is you who will have to find out your own recovery strategy and achieve a high quality of life. The books will be a source of hope and inspiration so that you can start finding solutions to your problems.

Author Bio:

Ulcerative colitis is a chronic disease. You can Learn about the common inflammatory diseases from the most informative & useful Ulcerative Colitis Books solely on Ulcerative Colitis.