The introduction of smart metering will see an exponential increase in the volume of data collected by utilities companies. Data centers will have to grow to keep up with the growth of data. At first glance, the opportunities for data services should be immense. However, few utilities are considering this option at present.
utilities
U.S. utilities must correct, update, and integrate customer and infrastructure data before a smart grid can be effectively implemented, according to a benchmark study conducted by Esri. The smart grid, a popular plan to add communication and computer technology to electric networks, promises to make energy cleaner and more reliable.
via AmeriSurv.com – Smart Grid Study Identifies Utility Hurdles.
The first Smart Grid Cyber Security Summit was held recently in San Jose. IBM’s Andy Bochman, in his excellent Smart Grid Security blog (http://smartgridsecurity.blogspot.com) provides a good review of the proceedings, and I’ll add a few of my own thoughts.
The attendance of approximately 75 people was not bad for a first time event, but well below the typical 200-300 people drawn other smart grid conferences. There were few utilities present. My informal count was three, including invited panelists, with none from California. Interestingly, the California PUC was there in force. A similar cyber security event I spoke at in Washington, D.C. in June attracted no more than 25 people, despite a strong speaker lineup. Is cyber security simply not that high on the industry’s priority list?
via Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Smart Grid Security Experts… « Pike Research.
Many see the electric and power utility industry as a huge dinosaur that is slow to respond to new challenges. However, there are a number of leaders that are quickly embracing smart grid and renewable energy technologies and approaches.
The leading utilities for this year were just announced by IDC Energy Insights and Intelligent Utility magazine in their annual UtiliQ rankings, designed to measure the progress utilities are making on the path to intelligent energy.
via Top 10 ’smartest’ utilities for 2010 announced – SmartPlanet.
Nevada utility regulators have approved a sweeping 20-year development plan for Nevada’s main electric utility that includes a $510 million transmission line, $301 million in “smart” meters and more than 400 megawatts of renewable-power purchases.
State Public Utilities Commission approval Wednesday for the NV Energy-integrated resource plan gave the go-ahead for building a 235-mile transmission line from Ely to the Las Vegas area.
The nation’s nascent smart grid has begun its deployment, and the state with the most traction is California.
So what are the issues facing those utility companies at the forefront of the movement?
I spoke with San Diego Gas & Electric president and COO Michael Niggli to find out. Niggli, who also serves as COO of Southern California Gas, says his companies are taking advantage of the smart grid deployment to reconnect with their customers — as well as set the foundation for clean transportation and improved transmission infrastructure.
Duke Energy will go back to Indiana regulators this week, seeking approval of a scaled-down proposal for smart grid operations in that state.
Smart-grid technology allows utilities to send signals to specially equipped appliances over transmission lines. The signals enable the utilities to tell the appliances to operate using less power during peak consumption times.
via Duke Energy slashes Indiana smart-grid plan – Business First of Louisville.
AT&T has signed a new agreement to combine Petra Solar’s smart grid and renewable energy technology with the telecom’s wireless network in order to offer utilities improved power quality and grid reliability. Petra Solar’s solution enables utility companies to simultaneously address Renewable Portfolio Standard requirements and invest in a smart grid technology.
Consumers across the United States say they want installation of so-called smart meters to go slow, saying the devices are raising, not lowering, their bills.
States across the country have been tinkering with smart utility use meters on a pilot basis for the several years, but only recently have allowed utilities to roll them out en masse, Stateline.org reported.
“Trilliant and competitors such as Itron Inc., the largest U.S. maker of utility meters, are beginning to benefit from the $4.5 billion in stimulus funds the Obama administration directed toward smart grids to improve efficiency and accommodate electric vehicles and rooftop solar panels,” reports the Washington Post in a July 15th article. Trilliant Chief Executive Officer Andrew White told the Washington Post, “There’s been an avalanche of requests from utilities; we’re getting about one a week.”
via PR-USA.net – Smart Meter Manufacturers and Utilities Reap Benefits of U.S. Stimulus Package.
One of the largest utilities in the U.S. is about one-fifth of the way into a massive deployment of smart meters to its 5 million electricity customers. Southern California Edison, a division of Edison International (NYSE:EIX), today installed its one millionth smart meter at a customer’s home in Redondo Beach, California.
SCE is investing a total of $1.6 billion on the installation of 5 million smart meters for residential and small business customers by the end of 2012.
via Southern California Edison Gets Smart, Installs One Millionth Smart Meter | Earth and Industry.
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission has given the OG&E approval to deploy smart grid technology system-wide beyond. OG&E, the state’s largest utility, has been authorized to invest up to $366 million during the next three years. About $127 million of the cost will be covered by federal stimulus funds.
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) and Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) have signed an agreement to pilot and further develop a smart grid-enabled home energy management solution to provide Duke Energy customers with home energy use information.
The announcement corresponds with the unveiling this week of Cisco’s Home Energy Management Solution, which features a proprietary Home Energy Controller (CGH-100) designed to work in concert with Cisco Energy Management Services, a platform whereby utilities can manage and integrate data from homes with their back-end applications.
Communications holding company AT&T announced a partnership with CURRENT Group, a provider of distribution Smart Grid solutions, to expand AT&T’s (News – Alert) smart grid solutions offerings for utilities throughout the U.S.
Under this partnership, AT&T will offer CURRENT Smart Grid Distribution Solutions, which help utilities increase grid efficiency and system capacity by managing demand dynamically and reducing power delivery losses, company officials said.
via AT&T, CURRENT Expand Smart Grid Offerings to Utilities Nationwide.
The battle over subscribers and market share between telecom giants AT&T and Verizon has now solidly moved onto the smart grid. The latest development from AT&T, which has been the most aggressive about trying to rent space on its wireless network to utilities for smart grid projects, comes this morning in the form of a partnership with smart grid firm Current Group.
As utilities seek out future energy sources on the grid, tapping thousands of home water heaters is becoming an increasingly attractive choice over building new power plants.
Efficiency, long considered the cheapest way to meet energy demand, is becoming one of the most important “fuels” for grid operators, according to utility executives. Whether driven by regulators or rising energy costs, shaving electricity use of appliances or plug-in electric vehicles through smart-grid technologies is a key piece of the industry's long-term game plan, they said at the Kema Utility of the Future conference here last week.
via Utilities look inside the home to fuel the grid | Green Tech – CNET News.
The hardest part about saving energy through smart-grid technology may prove to be getting power customers to use the services offered.
The South China Morning Post reports this morning on problems utilities from the United States to China to Australia are having. Customers find the information and controls confusing the Post reports.
via Customers prove leery of ‘smart-grid’ applications – Charlotte Business Journal.
The telecom and utility industries haven’t always agreed on how to work together — which is why utility companies have traditionally built their own communications networks. But with the major opportunity called “smart grid” looming, there is a new study afoot aimed at bringing the two sides together, or at least finding common ground.
The effort is being led by Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) and the Utilities Telecom Council Inc. , a trade association representing the communications networking efforts of about 700 utility companies. (See Verizon Talks Smart Grid.)
via Light Reading – Verizon – Can Utilities & Telecom Team on Smart Grid? – Telecom News Analysis.
Landis+Gyr, the world’s largest smart meter solutions provider, today announced it has been selected by CPS Energy, the largest electric and natural gas municipal utility in the U.S., to deploy Landis+Gyr’s Gridstream™ smart grid solution for its more than one million electric and natural gas customers in San Antonio, Texas.
The deal bolsters Landis+Gyr’s position as the leading smart meter solutions provider in Texas, one of the largest utility markets in the U.S., in changing the way Americans manage energy. Landis+Gyr is now deploying more than five million smart meters with forward-looking Texas utilities, including Oncor, AEP- Texas, Austin Energy and CPS Energy — the equivalent of equipping one in every two Texas households with the power to manage energy better.
Verizon and the Utilities Telecommunications Council energy trade group in September will issue a report on a study they’re doing to determine the communications and information technology needed to support the nation’s utilities.
How energy data flows — via broadband, telecommunications and the public Internet; or via narrowband and private networks owned and operated by the utilities — is a point of some contention between carriers and utilities.
via Verizon, UTC do smart grid homework — Washington Technology.
