Corridor designation has implications for Smart Grid. The Department of Energy (DOE) announced the designation of two National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors in the Mid-Atlantic Area and the Southwest Area, two of the nation’s most populous regions with growing electricity congestion problems. The designation does not direct the construction of any new transmission. EPACT 2005 allows the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to issue, under certain circumstances, permits for new transmission facilities within such a designated area if an applicant does not receive approval from a State within a year. Even with a FERC permit, the applicant would have to secure the consent of the relevant land management agency

   QuickTake: Controversy surrounds new transmission in the Mid-Atlantic. DOE was clear in its press release that it was not requiring the construction of more transmission lines and continued its support for Smart Grid developments. We wonder if anti-construction groups will begin to promote Smart Grid alternatives as a way to prevent new lines in their backyards.

   DOE press release

   DOE Website with public comments on designation

Allegheny Power contracts for self-healing Smart Grid. Allegheny Power (Pennsylvania) has contracted with Augusta Systems to provide a "self-healing’ solution – one that automatically detects, analyzes and responds to problems and restores service. The self-healing project will deal with real operating conditions, thus addressing problems common across the U.S. The project will feature an autonomous system consisting of reclosers and switches, wireless communications, sensors and software. The system will be installed on two 12.5 kV electricity distribution feeders. It will isolate faults and restore some or all electricity service from adjacent feeders in real-time without manual intervention.

   QuickTake: An exciting example of utilities moving beyond smart metering projects and shows how digitization of the grid, thus enabling the Smart Grid, can address a central concern of utilities – reliability.

   Augusta Systems press release

   Modern Grid Initiative white paper: "Characteristics of a Modern Grid - Self-Healing" (PDF)

AEP moves beyond advanced meters. American Electric Power (AEP) is contracting with GE Energy to design ‘the full energy pathway from the power plant to the home,” said Michael G. Morris, AEP’s chairman, president and chief executive officer. AEP plans to use the enhanced infrastructure to serve a million of its customers by 2010 and its entire 5M customer base by 2015. AEP will use GE software to monitor, integrate, visualize and analyze transmission and distribution assets, and to provide direct control of distributed resources.

   QuickTake: It is reassuring to see a large utility that understands the scope of the Smart Grid and that an initial requirements analysis for the whole project is beneficial. Remember, the Smart Grid will be the world’s largest network when completed … and thus should be approached as an IT problem with IT solutions and process.

   AEP press release

PPL Electric Wins Metering Award. PPL Electric Utilities (PPL) has won Utility Planning Network’s 2007 award for Best Metering Data Integration Initiative. The award recognizes the use of electric meter data to benefit consumers. The key was PPL’s "addition of a new information management system that enables the company to track, store and manage hourly electricity-use information from all of its 1.4 million automated meters." The system, installed in 2006 and designed by Nexus Energy Software, is the largest operational system of its kind in North America, according to PPL. UPN is a global organization that enables utilities worldwide to share business best practices related to advanced metering.

   QuickTake: Larger projects have been stalled because of poor access to customer data. This highlights one of the benefits of the Smart Grid, detailed usage information that will help both customers and utilities better understand usage.

   Utility Planning Network Web site

   PPL Electric Utilities press release