CPS Energy’s Customer Outreach Resource Effort (Core) Receives Top Honors as Proactive Campaign Continues To Help Customers

CPS Energy’s Customer Outreach Resource Effort (Core) Receives Top Honors as Proactive Campaign Continues To Help Customers

By Subcontractors USA News Provider CPS Energy’s Customer Outreach Resource Effort (CORE) received top honors from two leading industry organizations, CS Week and Chartwell. Through CORE, CPS Energy proactively contacted thousands of residential and commercial customers starting in June 2020 to check in on their wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. CORE connected customers with bill…

Minority Serving Institutions Initiative (MSI) Developing in Oil and Natural Gas Industry

Minority Serving Institutions Initiative (MSI) Developing in Oil and Natural Gas Industry

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent With individuals of color expected to fill about 54 percent of the projected 1.9 million job opportunities in the natural gas, oil, and petrochemical industry over the next two decades, the American Petroleum Institute (API) has added more historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) along with…

Commissioner Wayne Christian Pens Letter to the President on OPEC+ Discussions

Commissioner Wayne Christian Pens Letter to the President on OPEC+ Discussions

By Subcontractors USA News Provider Recently, Commissioner Wayne Christian wrote a letter to President Joe Biden encouraging him to reconsider discussions with OPEC+ and instead unleash the private sector to produce oil domestically in America.  The formatted letter is below: Dear Mr. President, I write to you concerning the Biden Administration’s recent discussions with OPEC+…

New Edition of Global Pipeline Standard Enhances Safety and Strengthens the Environmental Sustainability of Pipelines

New Edition of Global Pipeline Standard Enhances Safety and Strengthens the Environmental Sustainability of Pipelines

By Subcontractors USA News Provider The American Petroleum Institute (API) today published Standard (Std) 1104, 22nd Edition, Welding of Pipelines and Related Facilities, updating an important global standard that supports industry-wide actions to strengthen environmental sustainability efforts while meeting growing energy demand.  “Standard 1104 is API’s most widely utilized global standard, used in nearly 100…

5 Things To Consider When Permitting a Building With a Change of Use

5 Things To Consider When Permitting a Building With a Change of Use

By Helen Callier, Contributing Writer There are too many times to count where our PermitUsNow team members have answered the company’s 1.844.PERMIT.4 line, and the voice on the other side says, “I am having problems getting a permit.”  We ask the caller basic questions like the scope of work, location, type of use, and their…

Call 811 Before Digging: Free Service Will Help Keep You Safe

Call 811 Before Digging: Free Service Will Help Keep You Safe

By Subcontractors USA News Provider The RRC’s mission to protect neighborhoods around Texas extends to helping residents and excavators identify the vast network of underground utilities they need to pay attention to. Pipelines and other important underground utilities can easily be severed when unsuspecting individuals dig haphazardly, potentially risking harm. The RRC works with Texas…

OSHA News: U.S. Department of Labor Issues Updated Guidance on Protecting Unvaccinated and Other at-Risk Workers From the Coronavirus

OSHA News: U.S. Department of Labor Issues Updated Guidance on Protecting Unvaccinated and Other at-Risk Workers From the Coronavirus

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently issued updated guidance to help employers protect workers from the coronavirus. The updated guidance reflects developments in science and data, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s updated COVID-19 guidance issued July 27. The updated guidance expands information on appropriate measures for protecting…

OSHA News: US Department of Labor, Industry Leaders, Stakeholders Call On Employers, Workers to Combat Surge in Construction Worker Suicides

OSHA News: US Department of Labor, Industry Leaders, Stakeholders Call On Employers, Workers to Combat Surge in Construction Worker Suicides

While the hazards most often associated with workplace deaths in the U.S. construction industry – falling, being struck-by or crushed by equipment or other objects, or suffering electrocution are well-known – a recent study finds that another potential killer is taking lives at an alarming rate. In 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…

Houston Airport System News: Travel Rebound Steadily Growing in Houston

Houston Airport System News: Travel Rebound Steadily Growing in Houston

Travel rebound is steadily growing and nearing pre-pandemic levels. Houston Airports uses three measurements to gauge passenger travel: Enplanements, Capacity and Load Factor.  June 2021, enplanements — the boarding of an aircraft by a passenger— gained 2.24M, an increase of 15% over the previous month.  Capacity —the number of seats made available by carriers —…

TxDOT News: TxDOT Names Brian Barth as Deputy Executive Director for Program Delivery

TxDOT News: TxDOT Names Brian Barth as Deputy Executive Director for Program Delivery

The Texas Department of Transportation recently announced the selection of Brian Barth as the department’s second Deputy Executive Director. Barth assumed his new role on August 1 and will serve alongside Deputy Executive Director Brandye Hendrickson, who joined TxDOT on July 19. Both positions report to Executive Director Marc Williams with Barth responsible for leading…

Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design News: Black Hair Inspires Architecture Embodying Black Identity

Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design News: Black Hair Inspires Architecture Embodying Black Identity

By Stephen Schad, Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design Contributor The Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts announced recently that University of Houston Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design Professor Sheryl Tucker de Vazquez’s proposal Hair Salon: Translating Black Hair Practices for Architecture Using Computational Methods is among…

Construction Employment Trails Pre-Pandemic Level in 39 States as Supply Chain Challenges, Rising Materials Prices Undermine Demand

Construction Employment Trails Pre-Pandemic Level in 39 States as Supply Chain Challenges, Rising Materials Prices Undermine Demand

By Subcontractors USA News Provider Construction employment in June remained below the levels reached before the pre-pandemic peak in February 2020 in 39 states, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government employment data released today. Association officials noted that many construction firms are struggling to cope with supply chain…

Construction Employment Declines by 7,000 in June as Nonresidential Firms Struggle To Find Workers and Materials To Complete Projects

Construction Employment Declines by 7,000 in June as Nonresidential Firms Struggle To Find Workers and Materials To Complete Projects

By Subcontractors USA News Provider Construction employment declined by 7,000 between May and June as the industry still employs 238,000 fewer people than before the pandemic, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government data released today. Association officials said that job losses in the nonresidential construction sector offset modest…

Producer Prices for Construction Materials and Services Soar 26 Percent Over 12 Months as Contractors Cope With Supply Hitches, Weak Demand

Producer Prices for Construction Materials and Services Soar 26 Percent Over 12 Months as Contractors Cope With Supply Hitches, Weak Demand

By Subcontractors USA News Provider Unprecedented price increases for a wide range of goods and services used in construction pushed up contractors’ costs by a devastating 26.3 percent from June 2020 to June 2021, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government data released recently. Association officials cautioned that rising…

CenterPoint Energy Implements Independent Board Leadership and Governance Structure

CenterPoint Energy Implements Independent Board Leadership and Governance Structure

By Subcontractors USA News Provider CenterPoint Energy, Inc. recently announced the unanimous decision of the CenterPoint Board’s Independent Directors to implement a new independent board leadership and governance structure. The Board named Martin Nesbitt, chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee, as its new independent board chairman, effective immediately. Martin Nesbitt appointed as Independent Chairman…

CPS Energy News: Condition Your AC System, Not to Overwork

CPS Energy News: Condition Your AC System, Not to Overwork

By John Moreno, CPS Energy Contributor South Texas is known for its sprawling pastures, longhorns and sizzlin’ summers. To help beat the heat, customers are cranking down their thermostats to stay cool and comfortable. How does that affect utility bills and budgets? Those lower thermostat settings can lead to much higher energy usage and bills….

Railroad Commission’s Underground Injection Control Program Recognized in EPA Report

Railroad Commission’s Underground Injection Control Program Recognized in EPA Report

By Subcontractors USA News Provider In a new report, EPA Region 6 once again commended the Railroad Commission’s Underground Injection Control program for protecting underground sources of drinking water and controlling seismic activity. RRC’s UIC program, which handles the most Class II injection well applications in the nation, carries out state and EPA-approved rules on…