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Are Utilities and Customers Holding Up the Smart Grid? By SGN Staff Feb 2, 2010 - 2:35:13 PM
Utilities make headlines for ambitious metering and other Smart Grid implementation projects. That suggests the enthusiasm for the new technologies is widespread, if not universal. New research suggests that it's not.
A new research report says global implementation of Smart Grids could be hobbled by two seemingly unlikely stakeholders: utilities and their customers.
Based on their analysis, global market intelligence services company GlobalData contends that both utilities and customers are having a hard time accepting the new Smart Grid technologies without hesitation.
Utilities typically face massive investments in infrastructure expansion or upgrades and new two-way communications technologies. The report notes that utilities don't see any short-term financial gain and that the absence of a business case makes matters worse. They're also wary of the risks involved in adopting new technologies.
And while a number of surveys have indicated that a majority of consumers want renewable energy and other benefits the Smart Grid can provide, GlobalData says the privacy issue is a bigger concern than one might think. It is, according to the report, a global phenomenon.
Consumers are afraid that new technologies such as smart meters could give utilities more information about their private lives than they want to share. They're also afraid that the power consumption information the advanced meters can gather could be misused.
The solution? Governments and regulators are likely to use a "reward-and-punish" approach to get through those snags by giving utilities funding options, like the DOE's Smart Grid Investment Grants and other incentives, to invest in Smart Grid technologies. And they're expected to establish regulations to ensure that utilities get on board. . From the source ...
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