Repair or Renovate? Puerto Rico Faces Stark Power Grid Options

It has been 68 days since Hurricane Irma took down much of Puerto Rico's aging power grid and 54 days since Hurricane Maria finished the job, leaving nearly all 3.4 million residents without electricity. The island's state-owned utility company, the U.S. government and workers on loan from other utilities are installing new poles, lines and power distribution circuits to replace those blown away by the storms. Read more.

ABB Buys GE Business for $2.6 Billion in Bet it can Boost Margins

Power grids maker ABB is buying General Electric's Industrial Solutions business for $2.6 billion in a bet it can improve the division's lackluster margins over the next five years, the Swiss engineering company said in September. Read more.

ASCO Power Technologies is Now a Company of Schneider Electric

On November 1, it was announced that Schneider Electric would complete its acquisition of ASCO Power Technologies. ASCO brings complimentary products and deep expertise to the scale and global reach of Schneider Electric. Both will continue to operate and sell independently through existing distribution channels after the transaction closing. Little day-to-day change in operations is expected. Click here for the FAQ.

GE Gives Estimations

General Electric delivered its expected overhaul Monday, a full makeover for a company with an illustrious history despite wave upon wave of recent tumult. New CEO John Flannery, was was named to the position August 1 in succession of Jeff Immelt and who officially starts at the position beginning in 2018, made his first public address to investors in the form of a detailed presentation.  Read more.

Siemens Cuts Back

Heads up. Siemens is making cutbacks, and about half of them will fall in its home terrain. The German manufacturing conglomerate announced early Thursday of 6,900 jobs to be cut worldwide. They come mainly in response to shifts in the energy, process industries, and drives sectors, and about half of them will be made in Germany itself. Read more.

PEARL Submits its Standard to ANSI

PEARL's ANSI standard, the Electrical Equipment Reconditioning Standard (EERS), has gone through four rounds of review and was submitted to ANSI for consideration on November 21. PEARL will continue to  cooperate with ANSI to ensure successful adoption of the Standard. More details will be shared upon further communication from ANSI.

PEARL Conference Details Coming Soon!

The 2018 Annual Conference & Exhibition is shaping up, with plans to open registration coming in the next couple of weeks. Be sure to save the date of April 12-15 and join us in Greenville, SC!

Sign Up to Receive Buy/Sell Requests!

With the launch of the new  PEARL Member Community, the buy/sell program, PEARL Link, has also migrated to the Community . This allows for more members to receive these buy/sell notifications and to expand on business transactions. Get started today! A FAQ document has been created to help familiarize you with the Community and some of the basic features. A recorded demonstration of the Member's Only area and the Community can also be viewed to provide further step-by-step guidance.

2018 PEARL Membership Dues Coming Soon

With only one month left in 2017, dues notices will be coming out in the first part of December for 2018. These notices will be first mailed to the primary contact of the PEARL member company, with subsequent email reminders to follow. PEARL members who do not renew by March 1, 2018 will be considered deactivated.

PEARL Board Meeting Scheduled for December 5

The PEARL Board of Directors welcomes you to join the December board meeting, Tuesday, December 5, 1pm-2:30pm ET. To join the call, please use the call-in details below.  To receive the agenda and additional materials being reviewed, please email PEARL headquarters at  pearl@pearl1.org  to be included.