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Step-voltage regulators have been added to the scope in this edition and there is now more alignment with IEEE transformer standards. NEMA TR 1 is one of the few standards on the market that lists audible sound levels for these particular transformers.

The European Commission’s proposal is supposed to deliver more cross-border electricity transmission.It is an extension of the current system of national-welfare centred regulations, a system which does not target the optimisation of the EU electricity network, and as such is inconsistent with a truly single market. However, the integrated first-best solution – a single European system operator, regulated by a single regulator, which develops the network in coordination with generators and consumers – appears politically infeasible. To overcome this, we propose a bold blueprint for a European system to fund andincentivise infrastructure development. The approach is fourfold: (1) implement vertical unbundling; (2) add a European system-management layer; (3) establish a stringent planningprocess; and (4) phase-in European cost-sharing.

An eleventh-hour adjustment for copper will allow miners such as Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold and Newmont Mining to continue shipments. The regulation will allow exports of copper concentrate above or equal to 15% metal content. About 66 companies that have plans to process domestically will be allowed to export as well, Jero Wacik, energy and mines minister, told local reporters in Indonesia.

ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, is well prepared for the new ecodesign transformer regulations that came into force within the EU`s internal market in June 2014. All new transformers put into service in the EU must fulfil minimum energy efficiency requirements from July 1, 2015, giving the industry and market a period of grace of less than one year to adapt.Large amounts of power pass through transformers, which account for 30-40 percent of the losses in transmission and distribution systems. Even a marginal increase in transformer efficiency can significantly reduce CO2 emissions.The new EU ecodesign regulation covers small, medium and large power transformers used in electrical transmission and distribution networks, and for industrial applications. However, it does not apply to all transformer products; for example, single phase transformers are unaffected.The new legislation is intended to prevent high loss transformers from being installed in the EU, but the first phase (Tier 1) of efficiency requirements that come into play in July 2015 are only the start. By 2021, a Tier 2 standard will require transformer designs to be about 10 percent more energy efficient than Tier 1.

The non-ferrous metal sector in China is bracing itself for significant changes in regulation in 2014 as a result of November’s third plenary session of the 18th central committee of the ruling Communist Party of China.