Insights from our Editorial Team
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Reno-based utility will measure transformer loadsOct 08, 2010 |
NV Energy will offer its smart-metered customers a chance to opt-in for time-of-use rates, with one opportunity to opt-out within12 months if they face higher bills, in part to encourage nighttime charging of electric vehicles. Travis Johnson, manager of electric transportation and emerging technologies at the Reno, Nevada-based utility, describes NV Energy's approach.
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Varied views on strategy, technology and visionOct 07, 2010 |
Participants in an online forum discuss "leadership" in the smart grid space and reveal a multi-faceted notion of "smart grid" as well as how it should be envisioned and approached. The comments are all over the map, but in aggregate provide a thought-provoking exercise in defining the space and what it means to lead it.
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Smart money may require more patience than usualOct 06, 2010 |
Venture capital flowing into the smart grid ecosystem promises to reveal insights into what technologies will be disruptive, eventually mainstream and lucrative. But a glance at recent VC activity doesn't immediately yield an understanding of where the industry is heading.
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Former California Energy Commission chair comments on bulk storageOct 05, 2010 |
The passage of California's AB 2514 means that the California Public Utilities Commission will seek to define "cost effective" storage and work with utilities on goals to achieve it. A former chairman of the California Energy Commission shares his views on issues surrounding the legislation and the topic in general.
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Are we asking the right questions?Oct 05, 2010 |
The evolution to a smarter grid has some utilities, and some consumers, spinning in circles. There's a lot to consider, and a lot of questions to answer. With this in mind, we revisit the Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) concept. What is the "ultimate" answer?
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Oct 04, 2010 |
Municipal utilities come with certain challenges that are unique when compared to their brethren at investor-owned or cooperative utilities. Dawn Roth, general manager of IT at Colorado Springs Utilities, shares with Christopher Perdue her view of the current challenges being faced by municipal utilities
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New study underscores utility readiness, battery price dropOct 04, 2010 |
This time it's really happening - forget the stops and starts of past years. Electric vehicles in the tens of thousands will roam America's roads in the near future. And utilities - everywhere across the country - had better be prepared or face "havoc."
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Nebraska utility goes slow on smart gridOct 01, 2010 |
While many smart grid discussions focus on coastal utilities or highly populated areas, the largely rural Midwest often does not share an affinity for the "bleeding edge." Enter the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD), where the mantra is "go slow." Here's a refreshing take on metering, wind power and IT issues from the NPPD's IT leader.
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Readers sound off on smart grid-related issuesSep 30, 2010 |
Readers say the darndest things, typically with great insight into the solution of issues confronting smarter grids. The past week illustrated this point as our correspondents weighed in on variable rates for charging electric vehicles, Secretary of Energy Chu's perspective on coal and the question of who pays for research-and-development when a utility undertakes a smart grid pilot. Don't miss these valuable insights.
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Sep 29, 2010 |
Critics of President Obama's stimulus spending, particularly in the energy sector, criticize the pace at which that money is being disbursed. EnergyBiz columnist Ken Silverstein argues that a deliberate pace avoids waste and fraud and provides sustainable spending that encourages job growth.
