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Energy management strategies gaining traction: SCTE

Cable system operators are taking significant strides in reducing energy usage and costs and exploring alternative energy sources, according to Mark Dzuban, president and CEO of the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE), following a panel on energy management at The Cable Show in Los Angeles last week.

Dzuban, who moderated the “Getting Energized: Good Ideas (& Profitable Approaches) for Managing Energy Consumption” panel as part of the industry’s Spring Technical Forum, noted that the panel devoted considerable time to the discussion of concrete measures that cable is using to reduce power consumption and costs and increase operating efficiency. Accomplishments include the deployment of thousands of hybrid vehicles, engineering facilities to optimize airflow and reduce cooling expense, and smaller steps such as light sensors and recycling that are designed to create awareness of the cost and environmental benefits of “green” approaches.

“What I took away from the panel is that energy management is real and is happening now,” said Dzuban. “There’s no question that our industry is just scratching the surface of this issue, but it’s encouraging and exciting to see how quickly operators are moving to put new policies into place. What’s equally important is that our panelists were able to point to the types of financial benefits that will help these innovative strategies to be adopted more broadly.”

Panelists at The Cable Show event included Sam Chernak, senior vice president, New Technology for Comcast Cable Communications; Jay Rolls, senior vice president, Technology for Cox Communications; Dan Cooper, senior director, Technical Operations for Time Warner Cable; and D’Arcy Brown, director, Network Planning for Rogers Cable Communications. All of the panelists shared success stories from within their organizations, providing a view of the overall progress the industry is making.

Created jointly by SCTE, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) and Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. (CableLabs), the panel continued the focus on energy management that has emerged as a key part of SCTE’s mission. Earlier this year, SCTE announced the launch of its Smart Energy Management Initiative (SEMI) to help the industry to identify near- and long-term solutions. The SEMI program includes multiple forums, the development and sharing of resources, and increased panel and exhibit focus on the issue planned for SCTE Cable-Tec Expo 2010 Oct. 20-22 in New Orleans.

For more information on the SCTE, go to www.scte.org.

May 21, 2010  By  John Gilson