Many utilities cannot make Smart Grid investments until they have approval from their regulators. And even unregulated utilities must ensure that their Smart Grid outlays make financial sense. This section catalogs ideas and resources for making the all-important cost-benefit analysis.
Results: 82 results found. You are on page 1 of 4 pages.
Consumer perceptions may be at odds with the smart grid value proposition as portrayed by utilities. That's according to research from the Electric Power Research Institute. Christina Haddad provides a deep dive on EPRI's findings.
Our resident smart grid insider Jesse Berst sat down with the man responsible for producing public "report cards" for Xcel Energy's SmartGridCity and Duke Energy's smart grid Ohio project. He gleaned three important trends plus insights into the best places to find true value (the kind of value that assuages and impresses regulators). Click inside to read all about it.
This white paper drills down on the real-world challenges utilities face in developing comprehensive investment strategies and identifies difficulties associated with several common approaches to smart grid investment analysis. It also provides 10 recommendations for undertaking investment analysis based on the Smart Grid Research Consortium's cost/benefit model that has been applied at 15 utilities.
The benefits of smart meters for both utilities and their customers will exceed the costs, says a new analysis from the Institute for Electric Efficiency. Those benefits will come from lower operational costs on the utility side and from cost savings from in-home management technologies and pricing programs on the customer side. Click inside for more.
IBM has launched business process management software and services designed to help utilities automate (and speed up) their meter-to-cash processes, and improve demand response and home energy management.
Distribution and substation automation have become a major focus for most North American utilities. The good news: According to experts, DA can deliver a better return on investment than smart metering. The bad news: You still have to convince regulators to let you move forward. Where to get help: Click to our toolkit, where we've collected the very best expert perspectives and resources.
GTM Research smart grid analyst Chet Geschickter wrote last week about the business case for home energy management. Now, he takes a look at the two standards issues that must be resolved to make that business case a reality.
Can you talk confidently about the potential ROI from your next smart grid initiative? In this special report for SGN, Christina Haddad of EPRI outlines a 5-step process to help utilities better understand the benefits and costs of putting smart grid technologies in place.
Many utilities have chosen to initially deploy smart meters
without analytics. While this approach may appear successful from a deployment perspective, it can be costly in terms of operating this very complex environment. As this white paper explains in detail, the advent of millions of new devices in the field provides opportunities to utilize the resulting mountain of data to build a smarter enterprise.
The Smart Grid RoadShow blew into Portland, Oregon with a who's who of presenters – BPA chief Stephen Wright, CURRENT Group CEO Tom Casey, and FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff, among others. Click inside for their insights (and even a few bombshells) regarding business cases, smart grid hype, consumer engagement and more.
A convincing business case is important, but will not necessarily ensure regulatory approval. That's according to Rick Hornby, who has testified on smart grid business cases in several jurisdictions, including the BGE case in Maryland. What else do regulators want to see? Rick explains inside.
Presentation materials from the recent 'Making the Business Case for Smart Meters' webinar have now been posted. Another in the Lessons from the Real World series presented by Smart Grid News, this webinar featured insights from Chris King of eMeter along with Steve Sunderhauf of Pepco and Commissioner Richard Morgan of the DC Public Service Commission.
There’s a lot riding on getting the business case right as utilities around the country take smart meter initiatives to their regulatory commissions. So what’s the secret sauce? In talking to experts, Jesse Berst finds it boils down to three things. Click inside for details.
After first denying Baltimore Gas & Electric's stimulus-supported smart grid initiative, the Maryland Public Service Commission granted a revised proposal submitted by the utility. However, there were conditions related to cost recovery. This is a copy of the PSC order that lists those conditions and the commission's thinking.
Security blogger Andy Bochman highlights a discussion he came across on LinkedIn that puts the onus on the industry – not utilities – to do a better job of articulating ROI for Smart Grid projects. Click inside and see if you agree.
This graphic highlights the steps involved in creating a data management blueprint, from developing the technology specifications to building the business case.
While there may be a lot of buzz right now surrounding smart grids, most of it will be over the deployment of smart meters and the advanced metering infrastructure between now and 2015, says this report from Research and Markets. The report looks beyond the hype to assess the current status, drivers and barriers, as well as value chain and business cases for smart deployment.
Texas A&M University is setting up a six-month research consortium to help electric cooperatives, municipal and other public utilities understand and evaluate the business case for investments in the Smart Grid.
This 20-page white paper is one of the few documents that tackles utility business models head on. It states that "long-standing electric utility business models are rapidly becoming outdated." It signals three major drivers: new technologies, new policies, and more demanding consumers. It suggests three main strategies for innovating business models, but spends most of its time focusing on the first strategy, which it has named "industry model innovation" -- innovating by moving into new industries or redefining existing ones. It also includes an explanation of "platforms" and how they will affect the industry. A sidebar covers the rise and fall of the traditional grow-and-build business model.
WPPI Energy represents a microcosm of the needs and issues of Smart Grid implementation for municipals across the U.S. Implementation of systems across 52 different organizations (51 members and the WPPI Energy organization itself) makes Smart Grid standards and interoperability not only desirable, but absolutely critical for success. This case study reviews some activities undertaken to develop WPPI's Smart Grid roadmap.
This paper discusses the difficulty in valuing the benefits of environmental stewardship and corporate citizenship to justify smart metering or smart grid projects, even as utility customers, legislators and regulatory agencies and utilities, themselves acknowledge that they are important goals.
Cost remains the top barrier to Smart Grid adoption according to industry leaders who participated in the Pacific Crest Mosaic Smart Grid survey. But check out what other barriers made the list and how they ranked.
A new study, 'Smart Grid Economics: Making the Business Case for Smart Network Technology,' says the typical electric utility can directly benefit from Smart Grid technologies to the tune of at least $110 million annually
We're getting mixed signals about the vitality of the smart grid market. On the one hand, the recent DistribuTECH conference was one of the most successful ever. On the other, a well-known Wall Street analyst recently told his clients that the smart metering sector is "facing several headwinds," including weak regulatory support in the U.S. and delays in European adoption. Taking the pulse of the smart grid industry is this week's Tuesday Topic.
Twitter
Facebook
Linkedin
RSS
