Coming Up in EC&M
An article in the March issue of EC&M will explore public-private partnerships (P3) in the United States. Staff Writer Beck Ireland is seeking comments from electrical contractors who have participated in a P3 project. If you have a success story or a tale of abject failure, please contact her by phone at (913) 967-1806 or e-mail at beck.ireland@penton.com.
Around the Circuit
Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) recently released its Construction Backlog Indicator (CBI) for the fourth quarter of 2011. CBI declined 3.2% from the previous quarter from 8.1 months to 7.8 months, but is still up 10.9% compared to the fourth quarter of 2010. CBI is a forward-looking economic indicator that measures the amount of nonresidential construction work under contract to be completed in the future. To read more on this story, visit EC&M's website.
A study released by the Centers of Excellence finds that job opportunities in the solar industry are expected to increase by up to 40% in the next three years. The "Solar Industry & Occupations: Distributed and Utility-Scale Generation" report also looked at the availability of community college courses and programs educating potential employees for the solar industry in California. The researchers concluded that community colleges statewide have responded adequately to solar employment demand, with at least 54 colleges statewide providing some type of training. To read more on this story, visit EC&M's website.
FMI has released its newest study, "Public-Private Partnerships: What You Need to Know." The article provides a concrete basis for understanding the key issues and opportunities related to public-private partnerships (P3), as well as an outlook for the market in the United States. Based on interviews with industry leaders and FMI experts, it offers insights and recommendations from contractors, concessionaires, consultants, lawyers, and owners on how to get involved and succeed in today's P3 market. To read more on this story, visit EC&M's website.
NEMA, the association of electrical equipment and medical imaging manufacturers, recently announced that Charles S. Konigsberg will join the NEMA/MITA team as chief, strategy and policy. Konigsberg is a 30-year budget and policy veteran whose bipartisan experience will bolster the NEMA leadership team with a public policy focus. He has served in senior level positions in the U.S. Senate and White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). He was general counsel and chief health counsel at the Senate Finance Committee under Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY), a staff attorney at the Senate Budget Committee for Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM), the assistant director of OMB in the Clinton White House, and director of Congressional and inter-government affairs at the Corporation for National and Community Service in President George W. Bush’s administration. To read more on this story, visit EC&M's website.
Project Watch
New York's Department of Education is seeking bids for repair, replacement, and/or installation of electrical work. A mandatory pre-bid conference is scheduled for 4 p.m. EST on February 21. The deadline for bids is 4 p.m. EST on March 20. For more information, log in to the Vendor Portal to download bid B2059. If you cannot download the bid, please send an e-mail to vendorhotline@schools.nyc.gov with the bid number and title in the subject line of your email. For all questions related to this bid, please email sepstei@schools.nyc.gov with the bid number and title in the subject line.
The County of Presque Isle, Rogers City, Mich., is soliciting sealed bid proposals for electrical upgrades at the Presque Isle County Airport. Bids are due at 4:30 p.m. EST on March 6. For more information, visit www.michigan.gov.
Web Exclusives
The State of California has an extensive water storage and delivery system of reservoirs, aqueducts, and pumping plants that store water and distribute it to 25 million residents. When it came to updating the annunciator card for this system, the redesign was a challenge to say the least. To read more on this story, visit the EC&M website.
EC&M's NEC Consultant Joe Tedesco brings you real-life code violations. Watch the latest video here.
Cupertino Electric, Inc. recently announced sponsorship of the “open category” electrical problem at the 2012 Associated Schools of Construction Student Competition in Sparks, Nev. The annual competition, which attracts college students from across the United States, will be held February 8-11 to provide construction management and construction engineering students real-world experience and the chance to compete for academic recognition. To read more on this story, visit the EC&M website.
Dynalectric Co.-Georgia has been awarded a contract for the installation of electrical systems at a new School of Nursing at the University of West Georgia in Carrollton, Ga. Dynalectric Co.-Georgia, an electrical contractor serving the southeastern United States, is a subsidiary of EMCOR Group, Inc. To read more on this story, visit the EC&M website.
Eye on Safety
The Palisades Nuclear Power Plant near South Haven, Mich., has been lowered to the No. 3 category as the result of an investigation by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) of an electrical fault caused by personnel at the site in September. The incident resulted in a reactor trip and the loss of half of the control room indicators. Radioactive steam was released into the environment as a result of the fault, though the radiation levels were within acceptable levels. The downgrade means Palisades will have additional NRC oversight, including an inspection to determine if the plant staff "understands the root cause and contributing causes of the risk," an NRC press release said. For more information, read the full article on The Holland Sentinal's website.
Shows & Events
The 2012 EGSA Spring Convention will take place from March 25-27 in Austin, Texas. Topics to be presented at this year's conference include genset controls, social media, and disaster preparedness planning. For more information and to register, visit www.egsa.org.
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