What’s a harried grid operator to make of the smart grid as it exists today? So far, we’ve got a lot of smart meters (with or without connections to grid network operations centers), a lot of transmission and distribution grid systems built as one-off, siloed solutions, and perhaps some demand response programs to get power Continue reading →
PG&E broke ground Friday on a new distribution grid control center in Concord that is expected to improve electric reliability and provide jobs in the area. The 37,000-square-foot electric grid distribution control center, set to be completed in 2014, is one of three PG&E is building to control its 141,000- mile electric distribution system, utility Continue reading →
Today’s leading security experts believe the next catastrophic electrical failure may have more to do with Father Time than Mother Nature. Why? During recent decades, the focus of energy innovation has been to modernize energy distribution and make it safer, cleaner, more efficient, less costly, and open to more alternative forms of production—all viable goals. Continue reading →
Today’s distribution grids — the networks of power lines, transformers and other gear that carry lower-voltage electricity from substations to end users — mostly lack the sensor and CIT infrastructure needed to “light them up” to grid operators, so to speak. Distribution automation (DA) technologies are aimed at filling in that dark space, with a Continue reading →
The Smart Grid concept has been implemented at various levels for electricity networks, but is now becoming a reality for water distribution networks as well. The objective of a Water Smart Grid is to optimize three facets of the distribution system: water quantity, water quality, and energy. These system components can sometimes conflict, so they Continue reading →
Cooper Power Systems has debuted its new Smart VFI underground distribution switchgear, which is designed to provide a robust integrated solution for critical power requirements in smart grid environments. Smart VFI switchgear combines advanced tap-and-loop protection with metering, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) functionality, and flexible automation capabilities in a single integrated package, the Continue reading →
Rural electric cooperative utilities across 13 states will receive nearly $280 million for grid infrastructure, Tom Vilsack, secretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), has announced. The funding, which the department says will increase access to information to better manage electricity use, includes more than $6 million in smart grid funding. In addition, these Continue reading →
The National Institute of Standards and Technology has issued the following news release: The nation’s aging power grid is evolving into a modern, “smart” energy distribution network, and with these changes comes a host of challenges for the research and development community, as outlined in two new reports* issued by the National Institute of Standards Continue reading →
One of those words you have heard flashed around by people in energy, power systems, regulators and investors or even your school professor. If you are like me after hearing it, you put the two words together and got a vague meaning – a power grid that is intelligent or smart. Well when stripped to Continue reading →
The nation’s aging power grid is evolving into a modern, “smart” energy distribution network, and with these changes comes a host of challenges for the research and development community, as outlined in two new reports* issued by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The documents provide valuable perspective to power company system planners, Continue reading →
I attended a really worthwhile meeting in San Diego this week–the annual symposium of the Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative (SGCC). SGCC has nearly 100 member organizations–utilities, technology companies, regulators and consumer advocates–interested in how consumers are responding to new energy distribution technologies. via Notes from the Smart Grid Symposium | FreshMR.
We have a number of recognized transmission and distribution experts serving on our board of “Grid Masters.” Several times each month we’ll post what we judge to be the toughest questions that also have high interest to our readers. At least one of our experts will respond. Want to challenge our Grid Masters for a Continue reading →
I attended a really worthwhile meeting in San Diego this week–the annual symposium of the Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative (SGCC). SGCC has nearly 100 member organizations–utilities, technology companies, regulators and consumer advocates–interested in how consumers are responding to new energy distribution technologies. Here’s some of what I found interesting: via Notes from the Smart Grid Continue reading →
Alstom Grid and Capgemini have joined forces to build the industry’s first cloud based Integrated Distribution Management Systems (IDMS) and a new cloud-based Demand Response Management System (DRMS). This cloud based system will be used to provide safer and faster services for cloud based management and distribution systems. via Alstom, Capgemini forge global smart grid alliance Continue reading →
Each year, GTM Research, in collaboration with the Rural Smart Grid Summit (RSGS), conducts a survey of key decision-makers from a diverse group of rural utilities in order to provide insight into that key emerging market segment. The findings presented in this report are based on a 41-question survey covering everything from AMI to distribution Continue reading →
Today’s power distribution control center manages the day-to-day operation of distribution network to ensure uninterrupted power supplies to the end customers. Today there is limited automation in distribution networks which results in lack the holistic visibility of real-time situation for an operator. With the advent of Smart Grid, there is an increase in development of Continue reading →
Nexans, a worldwide expert in the cable industry, today hosted a technical conference highlighting the vital role that Power Line Communications (PLC) solutions, deployed over existing electrical distribution infrastructure, will play in the creation of Smarter Grids. via NEXANS : Power Line Communication make a Smarter Grid | 4-Traders.
Is it time we switched on to smart grids? Perhaps the most crucial component of any smart city, bringing the digital age to electricity distribution seems an instant no brainer, but most grids are ageing infrastructures. Check your clumsily estimated bill for proof of that. via Smart cities: Smarter power | ITProPortal.com.
Three new reports do the math on growth in distribution microgrids and energy storage and quantify utility plans for beefing up cybersecurity in 2013. Microgrids Suggesting that a handful of innovative utilities are moving forward with microgrid projects despite significant institutional bias and regulatory obstacles, Pike Research believes such early initiatives herald a future in Continue reading →
Alcatel-Lucent is introducing new network technology to enhance communications for utility companies to make power distribution across an entire grid smart from power generation through to customer delivery. Alcatel-Lucent’s Internet routing technology will give utilities the ability to deploy a single, secure, reliable communications network throughout the electricity grid, supporting smarter power management to create Continue reading →
