Bob Galvin asks why can’t power be perfect. In an op-ed piece published in the most recent version of Energy Biz magazine, Bob Galvin asks why consumers do not get the same level of service that they get from other businesses. Why can’t the utility industry do better? Galvin, who ran Motorola for decades, makes the point that we lose over $100B a year because of power un-reliability. Galvin, in his short 2 page op-ed says we have technology to make power ‘perfect’ and that it revolves around incorporating microgrids into our power grid.

   QuickTake. Don Von Dollen from EPRI will provide information about the Perfect Power pilot funded by the Galvin Initiative at Grid-InterOP being held in Albuquerque, NM on November 7-9.

    Op-ed at Galvinpower.org (PDF)

    Grid-InterOP Website

Energy Insights Finds the Smart Grid. Energy Insights, an IDC company, has published the first 2 parts of a 3-part study analyzing different strategies utilities are using to tackle critical intelligent grid needs, including communications, sensors and analytics. The first two reports, Moving Beyond the Hype: The Future of the Intelligent Grid and Should You Really Mind the Gap and Bridging the Intelligent Grid Gap Between the Substation and the Meter have been published. The third report in the series is slated to publish in November.

   QuickTake: Energy Insights also joined the GridWise Alliance. Utilities should be encouraged that they will have access to more and more ‘smart’ research about Smart Grid opportunities and strategies. For example, Energy Insights published a report in September of 2007 about incorporating renewables into the Smart Grid. See our related news piece in this edition about how growing wind generation will expand the need for the Smart Grid.

   Energy Insights Website

   Energy Insights September 2007 Report on Renewables and the Grid

$3.6B in new fuses and are any of them smart? Freedonia Group just released a study entitled Circuit Breakers & Fuses, forecasting that U.S. demand for circuit breakers and fuses will grow 3.7% per year through 2011 to $3.6B. Freedonia predicts that the electric power market will be the largest and second fastest growing source of demand for circuit breakers and fuses through 2011, reaching $1.2B on annual growth of 4.2%. It appears that the Smart Grid will drive this increasing demand. The study was just published on October 1 and costs $4400. In an interesting and unrelated story, the Chicago Sun Times reported on a "smart fuse," one that could detect if a voltage surge is occurring and what was causing it and then safely restore power if there is no damage to the lines.

   QuickTake: It would be interesting to find out how many of the $3.6B in circuit breakers and fuses will be ‘smart.’

    Freedonia Report

   Chicago Sun Times Article... A Fuse So Smart...

European smart meter developments. Spintelligent and Berg Research have published a research report that includes 5-year industry forecasts, expert commentary and real-life case studies about European advance metering developments. The report covers regulatory and macroeconomic drivers, recent market developments in 10 Western European countries and solutions available from leading providers. Prices range between $1500 and $4300 depending upon licensing and the report is 130 pages long.

   QuickTake: Europe has been ahead of North America in smart meter deployment so this report could have some valuable information about what to expect here.

Contact Spintelligent to purchase report