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By Jesse Berst

 

We are often beset by negative consumer stories – meter fires, consumer backlash, health scares, etc. So it's a pleasure to meet up with a utility that has its customers on its side. Or, to be more accurate, that has teamed with the community to create a consensus vision for the future.

 

I'm talking here about National Grid and its 15,000-customer pilot in the city of Worcester, MA. I believe it is one of the first times a major energy program has been co-created with customers and the community.

 

I recently spent time with National Grid executives Ed White, VP of Customer and Business Strategy, and Cheri Warren, VP of Asset Management. They told me the pilot will affect 11 feeders, 5 substations and roughly 15,000 customers. National Grid has made sure that the pilot will "touch all customer classes" says White. It will test smart meters, fault detection, dynamic rates, volt/VAR optimization, EV charging, energy storage, renewables and more.

 

They call their approach "listen, test and learn." Here are some of the learnings I gleaned during our conversation.

Take the time to get it right. National Grid's original filing was submitted in 2009, but had to be withdrawn in early 2011. At first glance, that sounds like a defeat.

Ultimately, however, it turned into a victory. The new pilot carried a significantly lower cost and a shorter delivery schedule. More importantly, it was designed with community input and has garnered widespread community support. As the city of Worcester echoes on its web site, the pilot was "co-created based on what customers and the community said it wanted and expected, as opposed to a standardized approach that has been used in other smart grid pilots."

 

I know it is popular to berate utilities for not moving faster. In reality, however, it is generally wiser to be a fast follower rather than a genuine pioneer.

 

Test interoperability, not just devices. Most utilities know to test the devices before the rollout. But Warren said most of the problems encountered by National Grid's testing lab related to interoperability between devices from different manufacturers, not to the devices themselves. To spot issues and to gain baseline numbers, National Grid "pre-installed" 5,000 Itron meters. To speed its ability to offer a wide range of capabilities right away, it is using a hosted (cloud) version of the Itron meter data management system.

 

Put community involvement at the core. "The centerpiece of our new effort was a community summit," explains Warren. Along with the city government, National Grid co-hosted a "Green to Growth" summit in September 2011. The two-day forum was attended by more than 300 residential and commercial customers, government officials and other stakeholders.

 

Help stakeholders create a vision for a better energy future. Few people will appreciate modernization if it's imposed from the top down. But many people can get enthused about a better energy world for themselves and their children. The summit meeting included a "dream phase," where residents could decide how they wanted their energy future to look. Thirteen different initiatives came from the meeting. National Grid is leading some of them. Others are being led by the community.

 

Stay engaged throughout. "We didn't stop at a one-time event," says Warren. National Grid co-leads a community council that meets every other month. The council includes two representatives from the city, two from National Grid and several volunteers. It will further develop energy opportunity areas identified during the summit. For instance, National Grid is helping to build out a "Sustainability Hub," a showcase and hands-on education center.

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Lessons from National Grid's Worcester pilot

PECO in Philadelphia, replaced 15,000 Sensus INC. IconA smart meters in a flash once it was determined that they were prone to overheating and setting people's homes on fire. This entire project you are making hay of is based on the same number of smart meters. TOO small a sample to crow about. National Grid's Worcester pilot..is JUST that a PILOT, where data can be manipulated to achieve the results desired. Let us quit fooling the people and tell them the truth! There is no shortage of energy GREEN or otherwise in America! The smart Grid is an AGENDA 21 project with the objective of population Indoctrination and control.

George Karadimas - 09/05/2012 - 07:07

Serving the Community's Goals and Aspirations

The 300+ people who participated in the Worcester Community Summit all had their own agendas, hopes, and dreams for a sustainable energy future and economic vitality for the region. What made the event so exciting was that it was clear that Smart Grid technology could enable the residents' goals and aspirations. The IEEE Power and Energy Society is committed to helping more communities across North America make the same connections among sustainability, policy, technology, and economic growth. Hopefully, we will see more examples like this one in the near future.

Judith Schwartz - 09/05/2012 - 07:43

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