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Key standards workshop coming April 28-29. Under pressure from Congress and the DOE to step up the pace on Smart Grid interoperability standards, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has contracted with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to develop an interim roadmap. As part of that effort, NIST is hosting a series of meetings for stakeholders to provide input. The first workshop will be April 28 and 29 at the Hyatt Regency in Reston, Virginia. The second workshop is planned for May 19 and 20 at a yet-to-be-determined location. Both workshops are free and open to the public. Quick Take: We are so pleased to finally see standards on the fast track. If we can get this piece defined we will have removed one of the most significant barriers to rapid build out, leaving the policy/regulatory uncertainty as the last big roadblock.
NIST workshop Web site and registration SGN story on NIST awarding contract to EPRI
New study calculates size of Smart Grid market. Total worldwide spending on Smart Grid projects will exceed $33 billion by 2014, according to a new study by NextGen Research. According to the study, North America and Europe are the leading regions in Smart Grid technology, but neither has a clear lead. Although Europe currently has more smart meters installed, the U.S. has increased its Smart Grid activity since 2007 and is expected to overtake Europe in smart meter installment by 2014. Although the study’s author, Atakan Ozbek, is encouraged by current investments in the Smart Grid, he warns that a lack of standards is hindering its growth potential. The study is for sale at the NexGen Web site. Cloud Computing Journal report Purchase page at NextGen Research
Maps track smart meter deployment, utility decoupling. The Institute for Electric Efficiency (IEE), part of the Edison Foundation, has published schematic maps and tables showing the deployment of smart meters and the status of revenue decoupling for electric utilities. One documents utility-scale deployment of smart meters in the United States as of February 2009, showing the utility name, state, and number of meters deployed, as well as comments on each project. The map appears to show metering rollouts of investor-owned utilities (IOU) and may not include coops or municipals. The second map and table shows states that have some form of revenue decoupling program, either approved or pending, as of February 2009. Data is organized by state and includes notes on the status of each. Edison Foundation’s Institute of Electric Efficiency Utility Scale Deployment of Smart Meters Status of Revenue Decoupling for Electric Utilities by State
Big-name wireless firms compete for Smart Grid dollars. The wireless gold rush continues. SGN previously reported on AT&T and Verizon Wireless moving into the Smart Grid space. Now a story by Rebecca Smith in the Wall Street Journal reports that all the major wireless carriers are competing for utility dollars. That means cutting the monthly fee wireless firms charge to make the communications link. In some cases, Smith reports, that means dropping the charge $5 a month to less than a dollar. Although wireless firms are mainly working with metering and software companies so far, AT&T plans to develop its own software and data management systems for utilities and consumers. Quick Take: We predict that cell carriers will drop their prices even further, putting pressure on vendors of competing technologies such as WiFi.
Wall Street Journal on wireless companies SGN story on AT&T partnering with SmartSynch SGN story on Verizon partnering with Itron
How vulnerable is the grid to cyber attack? That’s the question Time magazine asks in a follow-up to the news that foreign cyberspies planted malware into infrastructure control software. The report cites several reasons why the worst case scenario is not as likely as some fear. The story also cites unnamed security experts cautioning that the Smart Grid, with its increased reliance on computerization, is more vulnerable than our current system. But Smart Grid backers counter that the more sophisticated monitoring and controls of the Smart Grid make it a safer bet. Quick Take: Our banking system would be safer from cyberattack if it went back to using electric adding machines instead of server farms. But nobody suggests that would be a good idea. Likewise with the Smart Grid. Yes, we have to work much harder to make it secure. But if banks, cell phones, Internet retailers, and defense contractors can build secure systems, so can utilities.
SGN story on the recent cyber attack
Massachusetts finds ways to woo customers. As National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) Chairman and President Fred Butler told SGN a few months ago, utilities and vendors need to educate customers to win their support if the Smart Grid is to succeed. Reporting on that need, Business Week notes that many consumers don’t like giving utilities control over their appliances and power usage, even if they have the ability to override. But the story also reports that Massachusetts utility NSTAR was able to convince 40% of customers in a pilot study to sign up for utility control devices by offering them an integrated package. The program included incentives for energy efficiency as well as rebates on solar panel installations. Quick Take: Winning customer acceptance is going to be an essential key to Smart Grid success. NSTAR has shown how using a little creativity in offering consumers incentives can be a first step to customer participation.
SGN interview with Fred Butler Business Week story on winning over customers
Miami announces $200M Smart Grid project. Miami Mayor Manny Diaz has announced a $200 million plan to invest in Smart Grid technology and renewable energy over the next two years. The proposal, called “Energy Smart Miami” would involve installing over a million wireless smart meters in almost every home and business in Miami-Dade County to provide more information and control to Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) as well as their customers. The meters will work with an open network architecture to allow others to developers to create new applications for energy management. The plan, which is contingent on funding from the federal stimulus act, also hopes to stimulate economic growth by creating green jobs. FPL’s partners in the project include General Electric (for meters and other technology), Silver Spring Networks (for secure wireless network communications), and Cisco Systems (for a secure communications platform and home energy management controls).
QuickTake: Miami’s proposed project, which is similar to programs already under way in California, Texas, and Ontario, is going to need some serious investment to get off the ground. The DOE’s draft proposal for stimulus disbursal caps grants at $20 million dollars, barely a down payment on the Miami plan, assuming they get such a grant. Full disclosure: Silver Spring Networks is a sponsor of Smart Grid News.
Bonneville vies for stimulus funds to demo smart meters. The Pacific Northwest’s Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is hoping to install some 800,000 smart meters in the Portland area as part of a Smart Grid demonstration. To do that, they’ll need to partner with utilities, who will be asked to pony up some $40 million toward the project. Once they can convince the feds they have a team of utilities behind them, BPA is hoping for an additional $10 million of stimulus funding to get the project paid for. Critics ask why BPA isn’t also looking into transmission and integrating wind generation. But BPA says that for now, customers are the easiest to test. Quick Take: BPA’s plans were reported the same day that the Department of Energy announced its draft proposal for stimulus spending. Given the short shrift that metering is getting in the DOE’s Notice of Intent, BPA may want to rethink its stimulus strategy.
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