A bill now under consideration by the Missouri legislature could give the state’s electric power utilities the incentives they need to improve the electric power infrastructure. In an editorial for the Springfield News-Leader, former Governor Kit Bond harshly criticized the bill’s opponents. via Smart Grid: Smart grid progress: Missouri poised to make grid modernization easier.
Back in February, during the State of the Union Address, President Obama devoted much time to discussing infrastructure upgrades, self-healing grids and grid modernization efforts. So, when leafing through yesterday’s proposed 2014 fiscal year budget, it was no surprise to see that it contains all the correct statements and sentiments regarding creating a smarter grid. Continue reading →
When it comes to grid modernization, understanding some history can help us map the best path forward – particularly in ensuring that the Smart Grid is both reliable and resilient for everyone. For instance, the transformations that occurred in the telecommunications sector within the past 25 years offer cautionary and instructive lessons. In the past, Continue reading →
Few weeks ago, I noted although green buildings are enjoying mainstream attention now, it was only about 15 years ago when most people neither knew nor cared about the topic. The same could be said about the smart grid which was a novel concept as recently as 5 years ago, but has since took off Continue reading →
The New York State Smart Grid Consortium (NYSSGC), a public-private partnership devoted to statewide implementation of the smart grid, today released a white paper that articulates long-range objectives for grid modernization in New York State that support the bold initiatives Governor Andrew Cuomo recently outlined in his annual State of the State speech. In the Continue reading →
Like many firms before it, Google has come to realize that policy and regulation are the biggest obstacles to grid modernization. As Michael Terrell, one of the firm’s senior lobbyists explains on a company blog, “the challenge is that the rules governing electricity distribution were written for last century’s grid.” via Google Spending Millions to Continue reading →
The large-scale rollouts of smart meters heralded one of the first noticeable machine to machine (M2M) communications deployments. It also launched a series of conversations about safety and privacy concerns, which will continue to play out in many other M2M applications. DOE ARPA-E funding jumpstarted an interesting array of technologies that will shape grid modernization Continue reading →
One unremarked aspect of the coverage we’ve given to the past year’s extreme weather events —fires in the West, derechos in the East and a hurricane in the Northeast—is how centralized power’s performance affected public perceptions of grid modernization. via Extreme weather and the grid: what’s next? | Intelligent Utility.
The convergence of key technology developments, stronger business cases and growing regulatory acceptance is accelerating grid modernization. Substations and the increasingly automated and intelligent gear embedded within them are poised to play a critical role in this transformation. According to a recent report from Pike Research, a part of Navigant’s Energy Practice, more than 10,000 Continue reading →
When the conversation turns to smart grid or grid modernization, typically people discuss the ability to install more distributed resources, work with customers or improve distribution or transmission. Seldom does the conversation revolve around traditional generation that has powered the grid for more than a century. In some cases it seems like the goal of Continue reading →
It’s been 18 months since former Austin Energy colleagues John Cooper and Andres Carvallo published “The Advanced Smart Grid: Edge Power Driving Sustainability” (June 2011) and, given changes in how the power industry views grid modernization, I thought it’d be interesting to see how Cooper’s vision has changed. via Q&A with smart grid author John Continue reading →
Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) announced today that the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), the nation’s largest municipal utility, has selected Itron and Cisco technologies for its smart grid demonstration project. The project, supported by U.S. Department of Energy ARRA funding, will provide the city with the ability to evaluate technology and program Continue reading →
In a new issue brief, NRDC addresses the environmental benefits of grid modernization and discusses the role of smart grid technologies in enabling a transition to a sustainable energy future. One central message of this new publication, “The Promise of the Smart Grid: Goals, Policies, and Measurement Must Support Sustainability Benefits” is that smart grid Continue reading →
Even when you design the most complicated initiative aimed at solving the most complex problem, you still need to abide by a rule of thumb: Don’t forget the buzz. An easy-to-remember catchphrase is one step that can transform a well-intentioned initiative into a successful one, according to a panel of experts at GridWeek, the annual Continue reading →
The term “convergence” aptly describes some important smart grid trends. Grid modernization is tremendously influenced by the convergence of IT or information technologies into what is typically known as OT (operations technologies) that manage traditional utility power grid operations. One result is that formerly non-communicative equipment like meters and transformers can transmit and receive data Continue reading →
The recent Smart Grid Roadshow in Vancouver covered interesting ground in terms of how electric utilities must transform to meet expectations of stakeholders – be they consumers, regulators, or shareholders. BCHydro resources discussed the unprecedented scope of ambitious grid modernization projects that their utility had underway to achieve two objectives: become more efficient and consumer-centric Continue reading →
The recent Smart Grid Roadshow in Vancouver covered interesting ground in terms of how electric utilities must transform to meet expectations of stakeholders – be they consumers, regulators, or shareholders. BCHydro resources discussed the unprecedented scope of ambitious grid modernization projects that their utility had underway to achieve two objectives: become more efficient and consumer-centric Continue reading →
I promise to stop writing about smart meters, beginning tomorrow. Actually, one can’t avoid it, if we’re discussing grid modernization. The awkward thing is, the power industry and those who think grid modernization makes sense are in the curious position of stating the obvious ad nauseam about interval meters. But that’s what it takes. via Continue reading →
Enabling commercial, industrial and residential customers to better monitor and manage their energy consumption is a key benefit of a Smart Grid. As part of their grid modernization initiatives, utilities are providing information and incentives to end consumers. These include visibility to real-time energy consumption, as well as variable price and demand response signals that Continue reading →
Convincing consumers to accept smart grid technology will not be an easy task, but it is vitally important if grid modernization is to achieve its full potential, according to participants who took part in a roundtable discussion hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Great River Energy. One big obstacle is conveying the Continue reading →
