Martin Rosenberg | Oct 25, 2010

A revolution has been launched as utilities build up an armory of smart grid weaponry. Their businesses will be totally transformed.
That was the view of a panel of industry experts at GridWeek in Washington yesterday that I moderated.
Joseph Rigby, Pepco Holdings chairman, president and chief executive officer, said that utility capabilities are expanding dramatically.
"Over the next two years or so, we'll finally know when customers are out of power and will be able to restore power much faster and at less cost," Rigby said. "Technology will also enable self healing.  Beyond that time frame, and based on regulatory outcomes, we will send pricing and usage information to enable smarter energy consumption choice.  Finally, the smart grid will enable a multitude of applications and support the expansion of renewable power.

John Kelly, deputy director of the Galvin Initiative, said customers want better service, and more.
"Customers have told us that they are after better service - reliability, power quality, cost control, conservation, and carbon reduction," Kelly said. 
 Don Von Dollen, EPRI's IntelliGrid program director, said a smart grid will usher in profound changes.
"The smart grid is the lowest cost approach to increase energy independence and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and while maintaining the availability and reliability of electricity that our society has become accustomed to," Von Dollen said.  "Utilities and third parties will increasingly offer demand response programs to residential consumers.  Technology will become available that will make demand response less inconvenient and noticeable to consumers.  Dynamic rates will become increasingly available."
Michael Deggendorf, Great Plains Energy senior vice president, said that his company will be focused like never before in delighting customers in its delivery of energy services.
"The smart grid creates the capability to fundamentally change the way we supply and deliver energy," Deggendorf said. "Today's system requires tremendous capacity and costs to meet customers' expectations for energy. Because there is no capability to move energy supply and demand dynamically, and limited supply/demand feedback, the introduction and integration of distributed renewables and demand response cannot be fully recognized. In addition, customers have expressed an Interest in taking a more active role in managing their energy costs and environmental impact."
The changes coming may be gradual but they will be sweeping.
Donny Helm, Oncor manager of technology, said, "The AMI program, with approximately 1.5 million of the 3.5 million residential and small commercial meters, has already changed our day-to-day business processes."

And the pace will accelerate. Clayton W. Burns, National Grid principal engineer of smart grid, said, "Benefits attainable today are not nearly what would be attainable in just a couple of years."

 

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