Advanced metering at “boiling point” says study... Utility CEOs White paper lists best practices in Smart Grid incentives... Survey finds demand side technology is a leading growth prospect...
Advanced Metering at the "Boiling Point"... Best Practices in Smart Grid Incentives... Demand Side Technology Set for Growth
May 11, 2005
The advanced metering market is at the boiling point claims a study by Utilipoint. For the last two quarters, vendors have received a “blizzard of RFPs from large investor-owned and municipal utilities.” The study cites Ontario as the single biggest short-term opportunity and AMR data management as the fastest growing sub-sector, forecasting it will grow from today’s $25M to $200M within ten years. QuickTake: For the past year, we’ve been predicting an acceleration of Smart Grid technology in general and advanced metering in particular. Now evidence is beginning to appear in support of that view. AMR study overview
Building the business case for broadband over powerlines. A recent article in Utility Automation & Engineering T&D Magazine claims that the technology for broadband over powerlines (BPL) has been largely proven. Now the issue is integrating BPL into utilities’ financial strategies and making the business. The article documents several successful case histories and cites several recent research studies pointing to a big jump in BPL users and revenue. One key point: Utilities are focusing first on BPL for their own automation, and only second on opportunities to resell broadband to customers. QuickTake: This article illustrates an important transition for the Smart Grid movement – the move from gee-whiz technology discussions to hard-nosed ROI analysis.
reducing future investment is only part of the issue! Rising costs of fuel, labor, material, rights of way, government regulation, all have a hage effect on the present and future costs of energy. New costs related to creating, regulating, marketing and implementing smart grid technology will all allow other companies (who are not regulated) get the profits (and most likely ...