Distribution and substation automation improves reliability with real-time monitoring and intelligent control. Many analysts believe it is the secret to making the Smart Grid pay for itself. This section highlights the best stories, position papers, and technical information.
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SGN Chief Analyst Jesse Berst notes that electric utilities in the U.S. are slowly coming around to the concept of saving energy with volt/VAR optimization (conservation voltage reduction if you prefer) and cites a cooperative project with the Electric Power Research Institute, Alabama Power and Duke Energy. Read more inside about the "green circuits" method studied in the project.
Utilities facing the challenges of an aging/retiring workforce and an aging infrastructure can find themselves dealing with problematic feeders that require too much time and attention. With launch of its Intelligent Distribution Sensor product line, CURRENT is offering a solution - and Pepco is taking them up on it with a rollout planned for its Washington, D.C. service area.
SGN's Jesse Berst attended the annual predictions Webinar hosted by IDC Energy Insights and walked away with nine that he believes in. Did you realize that utility mergers will accelerate? That munis and coops are now in the driver's seat for AMI deployments? That analytics is the Next Big Thing? Click to read the full list.
Pacific Gas & Electric this week asked the California PUC for the green light on six new smart grid pilot projects. The utility's plans range from enhancing distribution system reliability and flexibility to implementing voltage and grid control systems to cut customer costs, as well developing customer outreach programs.
Siemens Energy and RuggedCom have deployed an ultra-fast distribution automation feeder system to improve service reliability for the only hospital serving Virginia's eastern shore. The system offers an impressive array of detection and protection features. Read about them inside.
This study is based on inputs from utilities, regulators, manufacturers, systems integrators and consulting firms. It also includes highlights from recently completed Newton-Evans studies.
The global substation automation market is expected to reach $106 billion by 2015 as utilities move away from building new substations, and focus instead on upgrading to meet the varied demands of smart grid and telecommunications technologies. Click inside for more on the global market.
Watch out ABB, Alstom, General Electric and Siemens. With its just-announced purchase of distribution automation company Telvent, Schneider has put the Big Four on notice -- make room for a Big Fifth.
Chattanooga's electricity distributor and Alcatel-Lucent have teamed up to provide smart grid technologies to help customers better manage their energy use, and give the utility extremely detailed data to help it measure, monitor and control its distribution network.
What are the industry's leading researchers discovering about developments and trends in distribution automation? Click inside for research reports specially recommended by the editors at Smart Grid News.
This report summarizes the smart grid spending plans of utilities worldwide, both capital expenditures (purchases) and operations and maintenance (expenses).
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.
Smart grid electric power delivery company S&C Electric has added high-accuracy voltage and current sensors to its IntelliRupter® PulseCloser. S&C says the additions mean IntelliRupter can respond to self-healing and protection applications with more accuracy than any device now on the market.
IMS Research says the distribution automation market is set to grow to almost $1.5 billion this year. An announcement of its upcoming report notes that while smart metering revenues should shrink over the next few years, distribution automation will continue with the upward trend established by a record 2010.
With nearly 4,000 votes cast, Smart Grid News readers (and their friends) have picked the smart grid companies they think are the ones we should watch in the year ahead. Did they get it right? We thought there were some surprising choices (and omissions.) Click inside and see if you agree.
We asked readers to nominate smart grid companies that should be on our radar in 2011 and your responses came pouring in. In today's post we highlight our fourth installment of your 11 in 2011 nominations, along with observations on each of them from Jesse Berst.
A study from Newton-Evans Research says spending in North America for substation automation and integration programs is now at more than $500 million, with the very real potential to reach $10 billion.
Distribution automation is the next hot smart grid trend, according to Pike Research. Utilities worldwide are expected to sink $46 billion into the technologies to improve efficiency, reliability, service quality and conservation, according to a new cleantech research report. And by the way, the return on investment is expected to be better for DA than for smart meters.
With all the stimulus money (and press) focused on smart meters last year, you might think AMI is the only way to start a Smart Grid initiative. But Jesse Berst points to evidence the tide is turning and that grid applications may prove the quickest way for some utilities to demonstrate benefits. Click for his analysis.
This power report available from Research and Markets provides a detailed account of the global market elements for IEC 61850 compliant routers and switches. IEC 61850 routers and switches play a pivotal role in implementing smart grid norms through substation automation. The report covers global developments in the IEC 61850 compliant routers and switches in four regions: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the rest of the world.
Bringing more automation and intelligence to the power grid network to address a myriad of utility concerns such as how to reduce operational expenses to ways to meet new regulatory requirements is prompting the migration toward next-generation transmission and distribution substations. This paper describes Cisco’s vision and activities in the area of substation automation.
The Sacramento Municipal Utility District embarked on a three-year distribution automation development project designed to optimize distribution feeders to reduce losses, improve system reliability and restoration capability and test a sophisticated software that automates power factor correction and more. This presentation provides and overview of the project with a number of schematics.
Intelligent electric devices that allow for quick reactions to changes in a utility's distribution grid are among the features of the new distribution feeder-automation system just launched in the U.S. by Siemens.
One of these days the smart meter hoopla will die down and utilities will start layering distribution automation on top of their metering infrastructure. When they do they’ll discover that S&C Electric’s pioneering approach to distributed intelligence makes a great complement to centralized C&C. At least that’s Jesse Berst’s take on it. Click inside and see if you agree.
RuggedCom Inc. (“RuggedCom”) (TSX:RCM), a leading provider of rugged communications networking solutions designed for mission-critical applications in harsh environments, and CURRENT Group, LLC, a provider of innovative and industry-leading intelligent and optimized solutions to monitor and manage the distribution grid, announced today that they will collaborate to jointly deliver integrated smart grid infrastructure and advanced applications for distribution automation. The integrated solution will enable electric utilities to improve the reliability and efficiency of the distribution grid, speed integration of renewable and distributed energy resources, and reduce technical losses and total load of their distribution system in a timely, more secure and more cost-effective manner.
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.
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