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By Andy Bochman

This is the kind of system that needs long-term, patient investments in research in development, in innovation, and in upgrading the system.

The interviewer continues:                                                                                        

One of the main components in a "smart grid", a term coined by the professor, is the idea of two-way power movement. Conventionally, power has moved in one direction – from the local power plant directly to the consumer. In a smart grid, however, unused electricity would flow out of homes and back into the grid. This system would also allow homes or businesses that are equipped with wind turbines or solar panels to contribute their own power to the grid, which would provide extra security in the case of a blackout.

In some regions this vision still seems like distant science fiction; in others, it's beginning to come to fruition.

You'll find much to like in the 7 minute, 40 second audio segment that includes a little bit of history, a good amount of the present, and a few slices of a possibly better future... if we take the right actions.

Andy Bochman is author of the Smart Grid Security Blog and an Energy Security Lead for IBM's Rational division, where the focus is on securing the software that runs the smart grid. Andy is a contributor to industry and national security working groups on energy security and cyber security. He lives in Boston, is an active member of the MIT Energy Club, and is the founder of the Smart Grid Security and DOD Energy Blogs.