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In This Issue
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As always, it is more than just technologyORIGINALLY, I PLANNED TO FOCUS ON THE TOP 11 NEW IDEAS and technologies out there in the intelligent utility space. I envisioned this list as the ''cool technology list,'' but we always hear so much about the technology. So I figured I would expand the list's horizons and account for all the other factors that fuel the success of a smarter grid and more intelligent utility. As I got...
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Allegheny Power is building an advanced utility infrastructureWEST VIRGINIA HAS STAKED A CLAIM AS THE FIRST STATE in the nation to have what is being depicted as a legitimate statewide smart grid plan in place and is moving toward implementation.And while other states may argue West Virginia's status of being first, there's no missing the indications that both Appalachian Power-a unit of American Electric Power-and Allegheny Power, the West Virginia...
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Professor teaches utilities to walk the smart grid talkINSIDERS AT COMMONWEALTH EDISON figured they would ace their advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) pilot program rollout. Who, after all, wouldn't be thrilled to delve into a survey and eight scintillating pages of intricate text detailing all the bells and whistles that automated metering infrastructure makes possible? Their customers, it turns out. Consequently, last summer's introduction...
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California pushes forward, but are consumers ready?THE OLD ADAGE THAT RESIDENTIAL consumers don't truly understand electricity pricing has come back to haunt electric utilities as they begin to introduce smart metering and dynamic pricing. Reliability, on the other hand, is a concept consumers have no trouble getting their heads around. The trouble, to date, seems to be the ability to interrelate the two. In fact, consumer acceptance and adoption...
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Are we ready for real-time pricing?IT'S A REAL-TIME WORLD OUT THERE, BUT the electric utility customer can't participate. The utility customer can only change his rate plan on his next billing cycle and, in many cases, only when the meter is replaced. He can change his cable TV plan at any time via the Internet and this change takes place immediately. The electric utility customer can cancel or start service at 1:33 p.m. on March...
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Western synchrophasor efforts promise improved visibilityIF YOU'RE FLYING A PLANE IN BAD weather, you can always switch from piloting visually to depending on your instruments. For those piloting an electric grid, there is no precise analogy. Grid operators have lacked sufficiently detailed data for real-time, situational awareness that can allow them to prevent blackouts.In programs just getting under way, however, the nation's three major...
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A California university teams up with smart grid software partners''WHAT I LIKE MOST ABOUT MY JOB IS that I cannot exceed the imagination of my colleagues,'' said Byron Washom, the University of California at San Diego's director of strategic energy initiatives. ''I bring in former utility colleagues of mine, and the first thing they say when they visit the [UCSD] campus is time travel.'' However, for UCSD insiders like Washom, the innovations his colleagues...
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Exploring the Middle Kingdom of demand responseWITH PRESSURES ON UTILITIES TO reduce peak loads and integrate variable renewables, third-party demand-response (DR) solution providers are playing an important role as a bridge between the power supplier and commercial, industrial and institutional customers to manage peak demand. Whether utilities see third parties as competitors or helpmates, they are an expedient route to getting DR quickly...
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Smart technology is changing utility insiders' focusIT'S NO SECRET THAT THE UTILITY INDUSTRY is undergoing radical change. One industry executive recently summed up the changes impacting utilities as the most dramatic since the days of Edison.That statement carries a lot of weight given that Edison's lightbulb is now well over 100 years old. However, smart grid and other invasive technologies will likely change the face of the utility as we know...
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Stalwarts weigh in on ROI for industryGETTING CONSUMERS TO LEARN HOW electricity is priced is a good thing. That could lead to efficiency and conservation, resulting in lower rates. That's understood. But do those benefits outweigh the costs and will investors step up?The issue is now before a multitude of state regulators who must decide how the assets that make up the intelligent utility will get financed. Utilities oftentimes are...
Recommended Reading
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