SGN readers sound off: 6 hottest discussion topics of the year

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By Doug Peeples

SGN news editor

The past year was a big one for major developments and news in the smart grid world. As always, we urged our readers to share their thoughts and perspectives in our Tuesday Topic discussion forums. And you weren't shy about letting us know what you thought. Here are some of the topics from throughout the year that fired up a lot of discussion – and one that didn't but is still getting a lot of attention.

Editor's note: Some comments have been edited for brevity and continuity.

Earlier this month we asked you if the smart grid should be moved to the cloud. As SGN Chief Analyst Jesse Berst said in his introduction to the topic, more and more smart grid services are being offered through cloud computing. One comment was pretty blunt: "Do you really trust the utility to manage a cloud? Be careful what you ask for." Another reader took it to the bottom line another way: "The cloud offers potential efficiencies for back-office functions. But not for actual operation of the grid. It’s a limited solution that won’t address the need for investment in grid-based devices to fully realize a smart grid."

We certainly couldn't do an issues roundup like this without revisiting the continuing flap surrounding smart meters and complaints of health hazards. We asked you "What if smart meters DO cause health issues? What Then?" One short and sweet reply: "Then we have worries other than smart meters RF emissions are ubiquitous already from a variety of devices, many always on (for example, cell phone towers, wi-fi routers, etc.) unlike smart meters." And another approach: "The premise of this topic presupposes that all smart meter systems are RF-based. This is simply not true. If RF emissions are truly a cause for concern, than peace of mind can be assured for the customer by making use of smart meter systems that use other means of communication, for example power line communications (think PowerTagging).

Smart grid expert Mani Vadari said earlier this year that we should stop obsessing about customers and treat them as one segment of a group of stakeholders. One contributor to the discussion seemed to sum up the majority opinion on this one: "I agree the customer-centric approach should be rather replaced by the society-centric approach, looking at the overall benefits from the smart grids. Focusing too much on one party could end up with sub-optimal solutions or a patchwork, which won’t be able to enable or realize all benefits from smart grids. However, the customers should not be omitted, but they should be rather motivated to support those overall goals. At the end, if we can achieve those benefits as a whole society, all of us as customers will benefit from it."

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