Insights from our Editorial Team
-
Readers split on inevitability vs. new approachNov 29, 2012 |
Should we accept that major storms will take out the grid and focus on preparation, restoration and resilience? Or is a different approach merited when extreme weather is forecast to be the norm? Readers weigh in.
-
IEC 61850 allows too many vendor options, observer saysNov 28, 2012 |
A global standard, IEC 61850, is not performing as intended. And North American utilities need to pay attention because, although they've largely taken another path to substation automation, IEC 61850 could still appear in their future.
Comments: 2 -
Austin Energy veteran looks ahead to new paradigmNov 27, 2012 |
John Cooper, co-author of The Advanced Smart Grid, updates his views on grid modernization and the trend away from centralized power towards "the edge." Is Cooper onto something or is he blowing smoke?
Comments: 1 -
Wouldn't preventive measures be cheaper than addressing damage?Nov 26, 2012 |
New York has appealed for federal aid to the tune of $42 billion, with $9 billion allocated for preventive measures. Does that include any utility-related monies? Or will the state's utilities line up with their own rate cases to cover repairs and preventive measures? And what would those preventive measures be?
-
Nov 25, 2012 |
Some IT lessons learned from closed-door Knowledge discussions include a fount of revelations about consumer influence, IT coverage and gaps still left to hurdle, whether that jump is through technology advancements or changes in governance.
-
Storm should reset stakeholder expectations, renew commitmentNov 20, 2012 |
The process of integrating AMI, GIS, OMS, data analytics and workforce management systems will be lengthy and expensive, but that's the path to gaining full value from smart grid work, according to Arshad Mansoor, an EPRI senior executive. Until then, asking whether smart grid helped the Northeast rebound from Hurricane Sandy is premature.
Comments: 2 -
Storm should reset stakeholder expectations, renew commitmentNov 19, 2012 |
It's premature to measure smart grid performance in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, according to one EPRI expert, who says that years of costly integration work remain ahead before smart grid benefits are fully realized. Still, massive physical damage will always delay restoration, so end-user coping strategies also are needed.
-
Post-mortem premature, as recovery continuesNov 18, 2012 |
Hurricane Sandy delivered an unprecedented physical assault on Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states and the utilities that serve them. Did smart grid technology play any role in better preparedness, outage detection and restoration? It's early in the aftermath and issues abound.
Comments: 9 -
Nov 15, 2012 |
Despite the huge promise that clean renewable energy presents, big challenges remain. Chief among them are the ability to deploy cutting-edge technologies that integrate energy from the sun and wind onto the electric grid. Thought leadership sponsored by Intel. (Photo by Kathleen Wolf Davis.)
-
Customer education, KPIs, data analytics, cyber security, all on agendaNov 15, 2012 |
The collaboration at Knowledge2012 covered customer service and IT topics extensively, especially in areas where the two overlap, as with mobile applications for consumers, for example. A number of small, medium and large utilities gathered to discuss smart grid customer education efforts, key performance indicators for smart grid success, social media issues, analytics, cybersecurity and even economic challenges.
