SmartGridNews.com The insider's guide to the modernization and automation of electric power
S&C Electric’s ‘Intelligent’ Path to Smart Grid Distribution Automation (And What It Means for the Rest of Us) By Jesse Berst Apr 13, 2010 - 9:49:28 AM
I recently sat down with Witold Bik, VP of S&C Electric’s Automation Systems Division. Has anybody else noticed that S&C Electric is quietly pioneering a slightly different vision of the Smart Grid? My prediction: S&C's distributed approach will prove to be a complement to today's centralized approaches, not a competitor. Either way, the Smart Grid distribution automation space is going to get interesting in the months ahead and if I’m right, S&C will be very much in the thick of it.
The 100-year-old, Chicago-based firm now has about 2,500 employees. A decade ago, it acquired three companies and began to make the transition from pure hardware to a software-and-solutions focus. A few years back, it transitioned to employee ownership, which gives it the freedom to focus on long-range goals without the pressure to meet quarterly targets.
And then, about a year ago, it finally gave up on the notion that the world would beat a path to its door and started to market itself in the Smart Grid distribution automation space. That's just about the same time that its IntelliTEAM automatic restoration system matured and began to get traction.
Distributed vs. Centralized
I'll let you follow the links if you want details about the hardware, software and communications that combine to make up IntelliTEAM. For the purposes of this discussion, the point is that it uses “distributed intelligence” to make distribution feeders “self-healing.” In general terms, it is a collection of rules-based software agents. Those "smarts" reside in the devices out in the field, not in some central computer in the control center.
.
There’s lots to like about the distributed approach, and about the steps S&C has taken to make its devices as autonomous as possible. One of these days the anti-meter fever will die down. That's when utilities will start layering distribution automation on top of the metering infrastructure. And that's when they'll discover that distributed intelligence makes a great complement to centralized command and control. As we've seen with the Internet, and as we are now seeing with cell phones, the answer is not to put all intelligence in the center, nor to send all of it to the edges. Instead, most networks evolve to a mixture that scatters intelligence throughout.
What's Next?
If I am right in my assessment, we'll see S&C Electric really come into its own in 18 to 24 months. That's when Smart Grid distribution automation is likely to kick into the next gear. And when things like distributed energy storage will go mainstream. And, if it gets its act together, that’s when the sophistication of S&C’s marketing will start to match the sophistication of its engineering.
Nor is S&C the only company taking the distributed approach. For a look at another intriguing approach to Smart Grid distribution automation technologies, visit REGEN Energy, one of our readers’ picks as a Smart Grid company to watch in 2010. Their wireless energy management modules have distributed intelligence and "talk" to each other, then collectively decide what to do. They are turning out to be a clever way to retrofit older HVAC equipment for energy efficiency and demand response.
You might also be interested in ... Smart Grid Command & Control: The Death of the Giant Brain in the Sky S&C Electric Company Unveils 3rd Generation Self-Healing Solutions for the Smart Grid at DistribuTECH (press release/pdf)
Find news, reviews, technical papers and more on these topics ...
Smart Grid Distribution Automation
Smart Grid Policy & Regulation
Stay connected with SGN …
Smart Grid Discussions: Get LinkedIn with Jesse
Smart Grid on Facebook: Be a Fan
Subscribe to our FREE eMail News Alert!
Smart Grid Newsletter (SGN) is the insider's guide to the Smart Grid revolution. It consists of a FREE bi-monthly email summary, along with a companion Web site that contains the full stories and other helpful materials. Benefits of subscribing: SGN is the only central source for all of the news, trends, research and marketplace information relevant to grid automation. In it, you will read about cutting edge technologies; successful pioneers and how they got ahead; regulatory changes that could unleash new markets; the latest research; and new opportunities for sales of grid-related products and services. © Copyright 2009 SmartGridNews.com |
