» AGA Encourages Increased Safety Awareness During National Safe Digging Month
AGA Encourages Increased Safety Awareness During National Safe Digging Month

Washington, DC ? The American Gas Association (AGA), the national trade association for 195 natural gas utility companies, today called for an increased awareness of safe outdoor digging practices in honor of National Safe Digging Month. AGA and partner organizations will use the month of April to raise awareness of the ?811 Call Before You Dig? program.

With the onset of warmer weather, the busy digging season begins. AGA urges contractors and homeowners to call 811 before they dig, with the aim of preventing injuries, property damage and outages. The 811 hotline is a free service to that will notify affected utilities of a person?s intent to dig. Within a few days, the utility companies will then mark the approximate locations of the utility-owned lines with paint or flags. Natural gas pipelines, electric power lines and other underground facilities can sometimes be buried only a few inches, making them easy to strike even during shallow digging projects.

?We can?t stress this enough: safety is absolutely the number one priority of AGA members,? said David N. Parker, AGA president and CEO. ?The majority of safety incidents along natural gas utility lines are preventable. Many of these reportable accidents are caused by outside forces or third-party damage. That is why we?re encouraging Americans to call 811 before beginning any outdoor digging project, large or small.?

Since the 811 ?Call Before You Dig? campaign was created in 2004, there has been roughly a 40 percent reduction in excavation damages. For more information, visit www.call811.com.

?Our nation?s natural gas delivery system is safe and well-designed,? said Parker. ?That being said, we urge citizens to make a quick, easy call to 811 to cover their bases before digging?so that utilities can continue to transport energy to America?s 70 million natural gas users safely and reliably.?
# # #
The American Gas Association, founded in 1918, represents 195 local energy companies that deliver clean natural gas throughout the United States. There are more than 70 million residential, commercial and industrial natural gas customers in the U.S., of which 91 percent ? more than 64 million customers ? receive their gas from AGA members. Today, natural gas meets almost one-fourth of the United States' energy needs.

» OMNOVA Solutions Pledges to Reduce Energy Usage Through U.S. Department of Energy Program
FAIRLAWN, Ohio, Aug. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- OMNOVA Solutions (NYSE: OMN) has pledged to reduce its total energy consumption by 25% or more over 10 years as a participant in the U.S. Department of Energy's Save Energy Now LEADER program. This voluntary agreement calls for increased energy effic

» Dalian Wanda Group Awards Purchasing Agreement to Carrier Corp.
BEIJING, Aug. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Carrier Corp., a leading sustainable building solutions provider, was awarded a chiller purchasing contract by the Dalian Wanda Group, a renowned real estate enterprise in China. The one-year contract has an expected value of up to $30 million. Carrier Corp

» New Energy Management Starter (EMSTM) features BACnet and power metering for building automation systems.
New Energy Management Starter (EMSTM) features BACnet and power metering for building automation systems.

Today Cerus Industrial announced the release of the new EMSTM Smart Starter which is designed to work with HVAC fans, pumps and air handlers. The EMS starter features a Hand-Off-Auto keypad with LCD display for simple set up and operation. More importantly, it easily integrates with control systems by incorporating BACnet communications and providing 0.5% accuracy, utility grade metering for energy management.

Effortless Integration
The starter reduces installation time and increases reliability by incorporating common control requirements without additional external components. For example, it accepts dry or voltage inputs for activation by control systems without relays in boxes (no interposing relays required). Current sensors commonly used by building control contractors to detect loss of load, commonly referred to as proof of flow or status, are rendered obsolete by on-board true power load monitoring. Using power monitoring rather than current monitoring, the EMS is capable of detecting belt loss or coupling sheer accurately without difficult adjustments. Damper control and fireman?s override (smoke purge) are also standard.

A wide range, class 5-30 electronic overload and wide range voltage operation (120 to 480) VAC prevents installation call-backs due to mis-sized thermal overloads and nuisance trips.

The Starter of Choice for Green Buildings
The earth-friendly Energy Management Starter (EMS) is the ideal energy saver with streamlined automation integrating the use of BACnet communication. ?This innovative starter fills the market demand for better control and increased energy savings on small motors used within building control systems,? says Andre Perra [President of Cerus Industrial]. ?The installation is more efficient and the control is better than traditional starters that are haphazardly interfaced by third parties. Better control, easier sizing and direct communication create characteristics of quality and peace of mind for the installer, end user, and building owner.?

Utility Grade Power Monitoring for LEED Certification
Utility grade metering helps to control energy consumption within buildings. The EMS delivers valuable point of use energy consumption data via BACnet communication, pulse or analog output signals. Accurate to .5% on energy metering, the EMS is an important part of a Measurement and Verification plan required to obtain LEED building certification. Kilowatt Hour information and instantaneous kilowatt metering are available through RS485 with popular communication protocols such as BACnet or a pulse output for trending and control. Substantial savings can be realized in both installation and systems costs with power monitoring built-in to the EMS. Typical installation and costs per metered point with traditional starters and meters can run 50 to 75% more than that of the EMS.

Additional information about the EMS can be found at: http://www.cerusind.com

» Picarro Launches 2000 Series Gas Analyzers, Setting New Standard for Performance and Ease of Use
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Aug. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Picarro, the maker of the world's highest precision and easiest to use gas analyzers, unveiled its new 2000 series analyzer platform  to meet the needs of the world's most discriminating scientists. Across a wide range of applications including measure

» Opportunities Opening Up for Service Providers in the Large-Scale Wind Turbines Market, Finds Frost & Sullivan
SINGAPORE, Aug. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Wind turbine services have been experiencing considerable gains with the mushrooming of wind farms and the impending expiration of service contracts. As half of the installed base of the above 1.0 MW wind turbines in the Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) region is le

» 2011 KIA OPTIMA to Offer Amerigon Heated and Ventilated Seat System as Option
NORTHVILLE, Mich., Aug. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Amerigon Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, announced today that its proprietary heated and ventilated seat system will be offered as an option on the fron

» Reminder: Alon Krotz Springs Schedules Second Quarter Conference Call for Bondholders
DALLAS, Aug. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alon Refining Krotz Springs, Inc. (the "Company") announced that it has scheduled a conference call for its current bondholders to be held on Monday, August 23, 2010 at noon Eastern time (11:00 a.m. Central) to discuss its financial results for the quarter e