In This Issue
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BUILDING SMARTER CITIES
SMART GRIDS ARE A CRITICAL COMPONENT in the development of smarter cities - they not only add reliability to the critical infrastructure underlying most other city systems, they can also help us understand demand and consumption patterns to optimize the generation and use of energy resources.With an estimated 1 million people worldwide moving into cities each week, experts predict the urban... -
A cyber security showdown?
THE DEFINITION OF THE BULK POWER SYSTEM is in play-within certain circumstances-in new electric utility cyber security legislation currently moving through Congress, both via the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. So, too, is the potential reach and control of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) being stretched by the proposed new legislation. It's an issue with the... -
Ex-FERC commissioner Suedeen Kelly provides transmission insight
ON MAY 19, 2011, THE FEDERAL ENERGY Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a Notice of Inquiry, or NOI, asking industry opinions on how to approach future transmission incentives. (FERC in 2006 had issued Order No. 679, relating to incentives for transmission projects.)The FERC NOI uses the phraseology, "given the significant changes in the electric industry and FERC's experience in applying Order... -
The focus: What’s in it for the members?
WEST OF COLORADO'S CONTINENTAL DIVIDE, WHERE THE Gunnison River drains a vast and varied topography, a small rural electric cooperative has maintained a face to the future since President Taft dedicated the local South Canal for irrigation in 1909.In those days, just bringing water and, later, electrification to the region were the simplest priorities. Both resources served traditional farming... -
Network of networks requires combination of solutions
THE DISCUSSION HAS LONG BEEN BREWING: SHOULD OUR smart grid networks be public, private or a combination of both? Within utility projects and deployments, we've seen very clearly that one size doesn't fit all, no matter what the technology, software or system being implemented. Just as the smart grid is a network of networks, so, too, are the network needs within it.Dispelling myths But as the... -
Distributed load or microgridding—or both?
BORREGO SPRINGS, A PROGRESSIVE DESERT community located in San Diego County, is well known as a year-round center for astronomy research. In fact, the small town situated on the edge of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park was designated as California's first International Dark-Sky Community to keep the star gazing sky as clear as possible.When the community isn't looking to the nighttime stars,... -
Utilities describe their challenges, successes and lessons learned
AN INTEGRATED MOBILE WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT platform - tying in field management, outage management, customer information, geospatial information and other systems - provides utilities with the ability to transform the way field work is performed. It can improve restoration times, increase customer satisfaction and increase overall productivity, thereby lowering cost. These were the goals of the... -
Deloitte study suggests new customer diligence
AS UTILITIES LOOK FOR WAYS TO ENGAGE THEIR CUSTOMERS with new products and services, a new study from Deloitte suggests they may find an eager audience. The study, "reSources 2011," conducted by Deloitte, polled 3,200 household decision makers and more than 400 business decision makers responsible for their company's energy decisions or energy policy.Let's take a look at some of the results of... -
Strategist Annabelle Lee shares thoughts for utilities and regulators
IN JUNE, INTELLIGENT UTILITY DAILY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF PHIL Carson held a wide-ranging discussion with Annabelle Lee, a technical executive for cyber security at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). Lee was formerly a senior cyber security strategist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where she guided and coordinated the creation of the NISTIR 7628: "Guidelines for... -
TVA’s new “demand charge” calls for “solution on a shoestring”
THIS STORY IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF WHY "SMART GRID" means vastly different things to different people. It also illustrates why challenges and solutions for electric utilities tend to be utility- and location-specific.The Nashville Electric Service (NES) is employing what Vic Hatridge, vice president and CIO, calls a "solution on a shoestring" to deal with changes in how the Tennessee Valley...
