Category: Utilities News

The fact that we are still so far from achieving universal access to clean water and sanitation shows that public water authorities, in their current state, are not working well enough. Ironically, the main losers from this institutional arrangement are the urban poor in these countries. In most middle and low-income countries, these publicly owned and managed water providers can be inefficient as a result of political interference, leading to over-staffing and low labor productivity. They run without an aim for profit but are based on the ethos of providing a common good considered to be of public interest. They are owned by the state or local authorities, or also by collectives or cooperatives.

These systems are what supply drinking water to populations around the globe. Water usage is broken down into four main categories, households, manufacturing industry, agriculture and other users. The Dublin Statement on Water and Sustainable Development is a good example of the new trend to overcome water supply problems. The feces and graywater fraction is collected, together with organic wastes from the households, using a gravity sewer system, continuously flushed with non-potable water. This technology consists in separating the urine fraction of sanitary wastewater, and collecting it for recycling its nutrients. Major improvements in eco-efficiency are gained through systematic separation of rainfall and wastewater.

Some 1 million people are estimated to die each year from diarrhoea as a result of unsafe drinking-water, sanitation and hand hygiene. Inadequate management of urban, industrial and agricultural wastewater means the drinking-water of hundreds of millions of people is dangerously contaminated or chemically polluted. Contaminated water and poor sanitation are linked to transmission of diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio. In 2010, the UN General Assembly explicitly recognized the human right to water and sanitation. Improved water supply and sanitation, and better management of water resources, can boost countries’ economic growth and can contribute greatly to poverty reduction. Over the years, World Water Day and World Toilet Day have focused on an array of themes, including health, culture, jobs, food, energy, disasters, peace and much more.

• The price of water is increasing, so less water must be wasted and actions must be taken to prevent pipeline leakage.
• The problem changes from a single objective optimization problem (minimizing cost), to a multi-objective optimization problem (minimizing cost and maximizing flow capacity).
• In developing countries many governments are corrupt and poor and they respond to these problems with frequently changing policies and non clear agreements.
• Some 1 million people are estimated to die each year from diarrhoea as a result of unsafe drinking-water, sanitation and hand hygiene.
• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 is to “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”.

Water treatment

The water is treated anaerobically and the biogas is used for energy production. The municipal government can develop a “Municipal Water Reuse System” which is a current approach to manage the rainwater. The cost is a function of pipe diameters; therefore the optimization problem consists of finding a minimum cost solution by optimising pipe sizes to provide the minimum acceptable capacity. If the benefit is fixed, the least cost design results in maximum benefit. These economies have usually had continuing evolution, which allowed them to construct infrastructure to supply water to people.

• An average resident in Stockholm uses 140 litres of water every day.
• According to estimates by the World Bank the average (mean) global water tariff is US$0.53 per cubic meter.
• Safe and readily available water is important for public health, whether it is used for drinking, domestic use, food production or recreational purposes.
• Many people in developing countries receive a poor or very poor quality of service.
• As water passes through the distribution system, the water quality can degrade by chemical reactions and biological processes.

For a water supply system, the true value or the net benefit is a reliable water supply service having adequate quantity and good quality of the https://neuralooms.com/articles/climate-change-current-status-future-prospects/ product. Goal 6 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals is to “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”. There are also people living where lack of water creates millions of deaths every year.

Most urban water supply services around the world are provided by public entities. In rural areas, where about half the world population lives, water services are often not provided by utilities, but by community-based organizations which usually cover one or sometimes several villages. In some federal countries, there are water service providers covering most or all cities and towns in an entire state, such as in all states of Brazil and some states in Mexico (see Water supply and sanitation in Mexico). These specialized entities are expected to be more competent and objective in regulating service providers than departments of government Ministries.

• The cost of supplying water consists, to a very large extent, of fixed costs (capital costs and personnel costs) and only to a small extent of variable costs that depend on the amount of water consumed (mainly energy and chemicals).
• It was in the 18th century that a rapidly growing population fueled a boom in the establishment of private water supply networks in London.
• Water supply is a separate topic from irrigation, the practice and systems of water supply on a larger scale, for a wider variety of purposes, primarily agriculture.
• The weighted sum approach gives a certain weight to the different objectives, and then factors in all these weights to form a single objective function that can be solved by single factor optimization.

A sustainable water supply network must monitor the freshwater consumption rate and the waste-water generation rate. The price of water is increasing, so less water must be wasted and actions must be taken to prevent pipeline leakage. Incorporating innovative water technologies into water supply systems improves water supply from sustainable perspectives. Sustainable development is of increasing importance for the water supply to urban areas. Factors determining the extent or size of a zone can include hydraulics, telemetry systems, history, and population density.

Governmental issues

Also, metered users are often charged higher tariffs for higher levels of consumption (increasing-block tariffs). In developed countries, tariffs are usually the same for different categories of users and for different levels of consumption. In developed countries the average tariff is US$1.04, while it is only U$0.11 in the poorest developing countries. 90 percent of urban water supply and sanitation services are currently in the public sector.

Population growth

In some countries they are both entrusted to ministries, but in others regulatory functions are entrusted to agencies that are separate from ministries.citation needed Often several ministries share responsibilities for water supply.citation needed Gravity water has a small pressure (approximately 0.25 bars (3.6 psi) in the bathroom) so needs wide pipes to allow for higher flows. Water can dribble into this tank through a 12 mm (0.47 https://the-business-mag.net/what-are-the-emerging-markets-to-watch/ in) pipe, plus ball valve, and then supply the house on 22 or 28 mm (0.87 or 1.10 in) pipes.

The back office supports https://www.lexa.ru/security-alerts/msg00890.html the cybersecurity function by centralizing administrative tasks and providing objective independence. This area is service-focused, providing support and advisory services to ensure that cybersecurity measures are integrated seamlessly into business operations. This model is designed to shift the cybersecurity function from a compliance-driven entity to a service-oriented business, aligning more closely with the broader needs of the organization.

First, visibility still matters because it remains the prerequisite for every other control. The statistics in this article suggest that the organizations that benefit most will be those that use regulation to accelerate validation, not just documentation. ENISA’s newer analyses continue to emphasize sector-specific implementation challenges tied to OT constraints, legacy systems, and cross-jurisdictional complexity. ENISA and EUR-Lex materials also make clear that supply-chain risk management is now part of the expected control set, not an optional add-on. In the European Union, NIS2 tightened cybersecurity obligations across critical sectors and explicitly covers energy, drinking water, and wastewater.

Utility cybersecurity is the technology and best practices that energy and water companies rely on to shield their grids, pipelines, control systems, business applications, and other digital assets from cyberattacks. His work focuses on real-world attack path validation, application vulnerabilities, cloud security, identity exposure, and adversary emulation. With certifications including CISSP, OSCP, and OSWE, he has led red team and application security engagements across technology, finance, healthcare, cloud, and regulated environments. Good statistics help justify asset visibility work, supplier-access reform, https://dallasrentapart.com/a-new-unmanned-aerial-vehicle-was-created.html DDoS resilience, segmentation validation, application and API testing, cloud review, restoration testing, and executive reporting.

Critical Infrastructure at a Crossroads: Cybersecurity Gaps in the Utility Sector

These attacks are increasingly sophisticated, leveraging geopolitical tensions and advanced tools to target the grid. The utilities sector is poised for record growth, driven by decarbonization, grid modernization and digital transformation. In PwC’s May 2025 Pulse Survey, 83% of energy, utilities and resources (EUR) executives identified cyber attacks as a serious or moderate risk — compared to 77% of executives in other sectors. For critical infrastructure utility sites that demand greater range and complete situational awareness, EchoShield delivers next-generation radar performance in a compact, software-defined platform.

Why Energy and Utilities Cybersecurity Statistics Matter

APPA operates a series of programs to help utilities enhance collective defense, deploy operational technology, conduct baseline assessments, receive technical assistance, and more. The EY “three office” model provides a structured approach for utilities to revamp their cybersecurity functions. Effective strategies must integrate technology, employee training, regulatory compliance, and strategic partnerships with technology vendors and government agencies. That combination matters to utilities because it maps directly to vendor-supported systems, internet-facing portals, remote access platforms, and multi-operator environments. In the United States alone, CISA describes the electricity segment as containing more than 6,413 power plants, while GAO notes that the country also relies on nearly 170,000 water and wastewater systems. Internet telemetry shows DDoS and API abuse continue to rise at a pace that matters to any utility running customer-facing digital services.

AWWA UPDATE: AWWA urges expanded U.S. cybersecurity support, measures

A major cybersecurity threat to power grids involves attacks on the systems that manage electricity generation, transmission, and distribution. Built on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, these solutions incorporate advanced security capabilities, including AI. Oracle Utilities offers applications specifically designed to help meet these needs, providing robust security features tailored for utilities. Elsewhere, attacks on utilities’ billing, CRM, supply chain, and other business systems can expose the sensitive data of customers and partners, leading to fraud, identity theft, regulatory penalties, and diminished brand trust.

With technology driving utility operations, a cyberattack against critical infrastructure, including the power grid and water systems, has the potential to cause catastrophic consequences. Environmental Protection Agency have urged water utilities to take immediate protective actions after a series of cyberattacks impacted multiple water services in several states. Learn about cybersecurity basics for water systems, how to conduct a cyber risk assessment, find out about upcoming cybersecurity exercises and technical assistance for drinking water and wastewater systems, and request cybersecurity exercises. Learn about cybersecurity assessment resources available for drinking water and wastewater systems. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients.

How utilities are modernizing wildfire mitigation programs

• His work focuses on real-world attack path validation, application vulnerabilities, cloud security, identity exposure, and adversary emulation.
• Shift key performance indicators (KPIs) from compliance coverage to risk reduction outcomes.
• Despite an organization’s desire to incorporate new technology and processes, the industry is challenged by limited availability and experience in resources needed for new implementations.
• They answer different questions and should stay separated in board papers and procurement memos.
• Fortinet’s 2025 survey added that 60% of organizations experiencing an intrusion reported impact across both IT and OT systems.
• A program for industry coordination and assistance in responding to cyber incidents, including training and information sharing throughout the year.

Common entry points for these attacks include compromised third-party vendors, vulnerable internet-accessible assets, social engineering tactics, and insider misuse of access privileges. A strong cybersecurity program helps utilities keep their systems running smoothly, protect the integrity of control signals, safeguard customer and operational data, and build resilience so systems can bounce back quickly after an incident. The infrastructures of energy and water utilities were once dominated by substations, water https://www.faststartfinance.org/2022/01/ treatment plants, gas pipelines, and other physical assets.

APPA serves as the liaison for public power, along with select member CEOs, on the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council to ensure public power is included in national preparedness and response efforts. Stay informed on the latest cybersecurity alerts, trends, tools, and events and collaborate with your fellow public power professionals tasked with defending utility systems from cyber threats. The training program was made possible through funding provided to CESER under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

The first commercial system was the Solar Total Energy Project (STEP) in Shenandoah, Georgia, US where a field of 114 parabolic dishes provided 50% of the process heating, air conditioning and electrical requirements for a clothing factory. Solar concentrating technologies such as parabolic dish, trough and Scheffler reflectors can provide process heat for commercial and industrial applications. Active solar technologies increase the supply of energy and are considered supply side technologies, while passive solar technologies reduce the need for alternative resources and are generally considered demand-side technologies. Passive solar techniques include selecting materials with favorable thermal properties, designing spaces that naturally circulate air, and referencingclarification needed the position of a building to the Sun. The study cautions that supply needs to increase rapidly to match demand from large-scale deployment of solar and required grid upgrades.

Deserts lying in low latitudes usually have few clouds and can receive sunshine for more than ten hours a day. The 377 MW Ivanpah Solar Power Facility, located in California’s Mojave Desert, is the world’s largest solar thermal power plant project. Most of the existing large-scale photovoltaic power stations are owned and operated by independent power producers, but the involvement of community and utility-owned projects is increasing. Utility-scale solar is sometimes used to describe this type of project.

• And then another reason is that renewable energy technologies have proven easy to scale.
• Off-grid PV systems have traditionally used rechargeable batteries to store excess electricity.
• A straightforward method of counteracting the UHI effect is to paint buildings and roads white and to plant trees in the area.
• Explore what it takes to become a solar engineer and discover the environmental science degree programs that can get you there.
• They use giant mirrors to reflect and concentrate the sun’s rays to heat a fluid, which produces steam to drive a turbine and generate electricity.

Some larger buildings also use a large, porous black panel on the south face to collect solar energy, heating air before it’s drawn into the building’s ventilation. Solar http://larsonpics.com/208/ energy is a form of renewable energy, in which sunlight is turned into electricity, heat, or other forms of energy we can use. You’re likely most familiar with PV, which is utilized in solar panels. Researchers across disciplines can apply for funding to support innovative projects that advance solar solutions and deliver the solar energy to businesses and consumers via the grid.

Renewable Energy

The stored potential energy is later converted to electricity that is added to the power grid, even when the original energy source is not available. Energy from sunlight or other renewable energy is converted to potential energy for storage in devices such as electric batteries or higher-elevation water reservoirs. This approach differs from concentrated solar power, the other https://synapsewaves.com/articles/understanding-electricity-net-structure-impact/ major large-scale solar generation technology, which uses heat to drive a variety of conventional generator systems. They are different from most building-mounted and other decentralized solar power because they supply power at the utility level, rather than to a local user or users. Despite prices of solar panels have dropped significantly in recent years, a major limitation for many countries to adopt large scale solar deployment have been due to its land-use requirement, and related constraints. However, solar panels that can follow the position of the Sun can significantly increase the solar energy potential in areas that are farther from the equator.

• Passive solar techniques include designing a building for better daylighting, selecting materials with favorable thermal mass or light-dispersing properties, and organizing spaces that naturally circulate air.
• Plastic transparent materials have also been used to similar effect in polytunnels and row covers.
• Surging electricity demand from data centers and AI infrastructure, with over 160 GW of new large-load requests tracked by utilities, provides a strong demand signal for clean power.
• The combination of wind and solar PV has the advantage that the two sources complement each other because the peak operating times for each system occur at different times of the day and year.
• Phase change materials such as paraffin wax and Glauber’s salt are another thermal storage medium.

Molten salt technology

They use giant mirrors to reflect and concentrate the sun’s rays to heat a fluid, which produces steam to drive a turbine and generate electricity. Historically they have been used in arid climates or warm temperate regions to keep buildings cool by absorbing solar energy during the day and radiating stored heat to the cooler atmosphere at night. By photosynthesis, green plants convert solar energy into chemically stored energy, which produces food, wood and the biomass from which fossil fuels are derived. Concentrated solar power (CSP), also called “concentrated solar thermal”, uses lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to concentrate sunlight, https://pagemakers.net/the-potential-of-renewable-energy-sources/ then uses the resulting heat to generate electricity from conventional steam-driven turbines. Panels generate no electricity at night and produce reduced output on cloudy days or in winter, requiring grid storage or backup power for a consistent supply.

Solar cells

We’ll cover energy efficiency, and how it can help us in the clean energy transition; and we’ll dig into nuclear power, carbon capture and storage, and even fusion energy. As Dr. Klemun just said, carbon capture isn’t commercially viable yet. ] other technologies to meet demand during the hours where wind and solar are not available. Another is something called pumped hydropower, which creates a flow of water when we need it. It doesn’t really have the ability to store electricity in the wires themselves.

• But we can’t always produce electricity from wind turbines and solar panels.
• It doesn’t really have the ability to store electricity in the wires themselves.
• Three-quarters of new generation capacity is solar, with both millions of rooftop installations and gigawatt-scale photovoltaic power stations continuing to be built.
• Exposure times vary depending on weather and climate from a minimum of six hours to two days during fully overcast conditions.
• Utility scale is forecast to become the largest source of electricity in all regions except sub-Saharan Africa by 2050.
• Aside from electrolysis driven by photovoltaic or photochemical cells, several thermochemical processes have also been explored.

Passive solar techniques include designing a building for better daylighting, selecting materials with favorable thermal mass or light-dispersing properties, and organizing spaces that naturally circulate air. The 280 MW Solana Generating Station is designed to provide six hours of energy storage. Despite the rising cost of materials, such as polysilicon, during the 2021–2022 global energy crisis, utility scale solar was still the least expensive energy source in many countries due to the rising costs of other energy sources, such as natural gas. For several years, worldwide growth of solar PV was driven by European deployment, but it then shifted to Asia, especially China and Japan, and to a growing number of countries and regions all over the world.