Major Smart Grid Projects Announced

Indiana Smart Grid projects. Duke Energy Indiana is proposing a sweeping five-year modernization of its analog system with a digital Smart Grid including:

• 800,000 smart meters. Coupled with future enhancements, these smart meters will create a real-time, digital gateway allowing customers to monitor electricity usage and participate in energy efficiency programs.  
• A state of the art digital communication system with two-way, high-speed communications.   
• Grid applications built on top of this infrastructure, with routine and automatic testing of system circuits, rapid problem identification and isolation and, in many cases, remote-control restoration following power outages.  
• Renewable generation in the form of solar panel pilots with interested customers.

   Duke Energy press release

$1.7B Smart Grid investment from ConEd in 2008. Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. (Con Edison) is investing more than $1.7B this year to upgrade and reinforce its electric delivery system, including the installation of:

·         Almost 10M feet of cable (enough to stretch from Augusta, Maine to Key West, Florida).

·         More than 1,700 new transformers.

·         Two new substations.

·         11 new energy efficiency programs for both residential and commercial customers. If these programs are approved by the Public Service Commission, the goal is to reduce demand by 500 MWs by 2015, offsetting enough energy to power half a million homes.

      ConEd press release

Biggest-ever grid upgrade completed by ComEd. Owned by Chicago-based Exelon, Commonwealth Edison is the largest utility in Illinois. The utility just finished a $350M investment in the largest and most complex grid initiative in its history. The eight-year West Loop Project converted the city's system from a hub-and-spoke to a network model. Chicago substations now have multiple sources of supply, substantially reducing the likelihood of major outages. ComEd also added the equivalent of a 400 MW power plant by building a new substation connected to more power generation resources. Since 2001, ComEd has invested $5B overall to expand and upgrade its transmission and distribution systems.

   Exelon press release

Illinois launches public/private Smart Grid effort. Despite the ComEd grid progress chronicled above, a new group has formed to study and promote even more improvements. The Galvin Electricity Initiative, funded by former Motorola CEO Bob Galvin, has asked Chicago mayor Richard Daley and former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Haster to co-chair a statewide effort to implement a Smart Grid. The group held its first meeting in early June. The year-long process will conclude with a report identifying the steps to improve electricity service throughout Illinois.

   QuickTake: The pressure to move to the Smart Grid is coming from all sides. Some utilities are seeing it from federal policymakers. Some from state regulators. Some from C&I customers. Some from vendors. We predict that more and more will see pressure from "grassroots" campaigns such as the Galvin Electricity Initative -- programs that attempt to get customers up in arms about the need to grid upgrades and enhancements. If the Illinois experiment works, expect to see the Galvin folks roll it out to other states as well.

   Herald News article

Wind requires an upgraded grid, concludes DOE study. A U.S. Department of Energy study finds that the country must upgrade its grid and its procedures if wind is to contribute 20% of total electricity. The recently published report concludes:

      QuickTake: The easiest way to predict where there will be big demand for grid upgrades is to notice where wind is increasing its penetration. As it creeps towards 5% of the total mix, wind begins to force operators to increase transmission and to install "smart" upgrades. This more than 200-page report is a great overview of the current state and useful forecast of where things are heading. Recommended reading.

   20% Wind Energy by 2030 (PDF)

Persons of Grid Interest

GridWise Alliance seeks president. The Washington, DC-based trade association represents both utilities and Smart Grid vendors. It seeks a President to coordinate activities, create strategic alliances, and serve as a spokesperson. Substantial experience in the electricity industry required. Legislative and regulatory policy experience preferred.

   QuickTake: We have been strong supporters of GridWise Alliance for over four (4) years now and we encourage Smart Grid cognoscenti to take a serious look at this position. You will have an opportunity to make a difference in this position and work with some great people.

   Click to send GWAan email recommending a candidate or to attach your resume

Smart Grid advocate promoted. Paul De Martini was recently named a Vice President at Southern California Edison (SCE), where he will oversee the company’s new Advanced Technologies organization to realize SCE’s goal of a “smart” electric grid.

   SCE press release

SCE Case Study: Designing the Future (PDF)

Smart Grid pioneers receive awards. Three individuals and two organizations have been honored by the GridWise Architecture Council for advancing grid interoperability. Recipients of the 2008 GridWise Applied Awards are Suedeen Kelly, Commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; Terry Mohn, technology strategist for Sempra Energy; and Peter Kelly-Detwiler, sustainability vice president, Constellation NewEnergy. Also receiving awards were power integration firm Factory IQ and the University of New Mexico.

   GridWise Architecture Council press release (PDF)