Today's Top Stories
1. Smart grid emerging from infancy
2. CMP launches major substation
3. PPL submits $200M reliability project proposal to PUC
4. Abu Dhabi tests time-of-day pricing
5. UES seeks rate increase for reliability improvements Editor's Corner: The Year of Smart Grid Consumer Engagement Also Noted: Spotlight On... BC Hydro delays smart meter rollout
Consumers cope with data onslaught and much more... NSA secret cyber security testing no longer secret
It's no secret that the nation's electric grid is vulnerable to potentially devastating cyber attacks. It's also no longer a secret that the federal government is targeting utilities to test the security of their grids. Article News From Across the Energy Industry:
1. Consumers confused by energy efficiency
2. Future of coal unclear
3. Customers win in Duke Energy IGCC cost case
| This week's sponsor is Zpryme. |  | Zpryme's Smart Grid Insights and FierceSmartGrid are conducting a survey to assess the current sentiment and outlook for the Smart Grid industry on a monthly basis. We would like to invite utility, energy, and Smart Grid executives to participate in this month's survey. Click here to take the survey.
|
| 
The Year of Smart Grid Consumer Engagement
Opportunities abound in 2013 for utilities to ramp up their consumer smart grid outreach and education. Since 2012, the opportunity for customer engagement has only increased. Armed with facts and research, the industry can better educate its customers. Research by the Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative (SGCC) has found that the more consumers are educated about and engaged in the smart grid, the more they support it. According to the SGCC, just some of the quantitative benefits consumers could see from a fully-realized smart grid include: - An increase in grid efficiency of 9 percent by 2030
- $42 billion in energy savings the first year; $48 billion in year five; $65 billion in year 15; and $102 billion in year 30
- 423 billion kilowatt-hours per year in energy savings -- or enough to power Las Vegas 207 times over
Other areas of importance to customers that utilities should consider when providing outreach and education, as revealed in SGCC research, include: - Consumers are willing to pay for smart grid benefits like outage restoration after such weather events as Superstorm Sandy.
- Of those consumers educated about time-of-use pricing and peak-time rebates, more than half found them appealing.
- Low income energy consumers require more education on electricity grid modernization technology.
As tweeted by @CIOMaster (Andres Carvallo) on New Year's Day: "Happy 2013 to you all. Let's build the smart grid." So, let's make 2013 the Year of the Smart Grid, or at least the Year of Smart Grid Engagement. – Barb Read more about: Smart Grid Education
back to top |
|
Today's Top News 1. Smart grid emerging from infancy
Smart grid development is emerging from its infancy with a projected smart grid core and enabled technology market increase to $220 billion by 2020, according to research from Zyprme. This is occuring as global utilities invest in the smart grid to address the escalating demand for reliable power, renewable energy integration, and greater energy-efficiency. The next stage is a transition from pilot or project mode to a full or large scale deployment phase. For the majority of utilities, this means large scale AMI deployments. Some utilities that are deeper into their smart grid deployments will be focusing on advanced distribution and transmission system technologies. According to Jason Rodriguez, Zpryme CEO and director of research, these emerging applications include advanced distribution management systems, outage management systems, customer systems, and enterprise level software, architecture, and communications. "We see cloud delivered applications (analytics, billing, mobile workforce management, load balancing and forecasting, customer management, etc.) growing rapidly in 2013," said Rodriguez. "Third-party delivered services such as smart-grid-as-a-service, energy-management-as-a-service, and distributed-generation-as-a-service are a few other high-growth areas that will pick-up traction in 2013." For more:
- access the report Related Articles:
Smart grid, smart city platform could unlock proprietary AMIs
Smart grid execs: AMI/DA potential very high Read more about: Zpryme Research
back to top |
| This week's sponsor is SmartGrid Careers. |  | | Market Your Open Smart Grid Career Opportunities to 17K Qualified Smart Grid Professionals! |
2. CMP launches major substation
3. PPL submits $200M reliability project proposal to PUC
4. Abu Dhabi tests time-of-day pricing
A "time-of-day" purchasing trail in Abu Dhabi could provide useful insights to utilities in the United States. The Powerwise Office of the Regulation and Supervision Bureau (the Bureau) of Abu Dhabi has successfully completed the installation phase of its time-of-day energy purchasing trial -- an initiative to ultimately change consumption habits by encouraging conservation and incentivizing electricity use outside of peak demand hours, thus putting less strain on the electricity grid and potentially saving money. The trial uses smart meters and in-home electronic displays to monitor household electricity consumption during different times of the day to raise awareness of electricity usage. The smart meters are linked to an indicative tariff that will measure the effectiveness of time-of-day pricing. In a 24-hour period, electricity is charged at two different prices -- higher at peak times and lower at off-peak times. Information tracked by the smart meters will be recorded and analyzed throughout the trial to help identify both consumption patterns and the trial's success. "It is all about 'flattening' the peak by shifting their consumption to the off-peak," said Ramiz Alaileh, the Bureau's Powerwise Manager. "Participants will learn about their real-time consumption, as well as hourly, daily and monthly consumption profiles; not only that, but they will also be able to know about how much it costs them at any point in time." The trial will end in late 2013, at which time the Powerwise Office will determine the effect of time-of-day pricing on consumption habits. For more:
- visit the Powerwise website Related Article:
Comverge announces utility dynamic pricing solution Read more about: Powerwise Office of the Regulation and Supervision Bureau of Abu Dhabi
back to top |
5. UES seeks rate increase for reliability improvements
Unisource Energy Services (UES) has invested more than $157 million into new power production resources and a more reliable distribution system since 2009. However, the utility's current rates do not reflect these investments. UES' total electric rates lag behind its service costs. UES' current rate structure is based on costs incurred by the company in 2008, contributing to the fact that the utility's electric rates are far below its service costs. Operating costs have increased and sales have remained flat. UES has filed a proposal with the Arizona Corporation Commission to increase electric rates, meaning an extra $3.60 per month to a customer's bill. The 4.4 percent increase would cover the investments, and help the utility build upon the improvements, including creating energy-efficiency programs. The company's current rates are among the lowest in the state and benchmarks for utilities across the country indicate that UES distribution operations are among the best in the industry. "Our current rates don't reflect the investments we've made and expenses incurred over three and a half years to improve upon the high level of service customers have come to expect from UES," said Paul Bonavia, chairman and CEO of UES. "We've reinforced and expanded our system infrastructure while investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency. Our proposed rates reflect the added value of these improvements, which have resulted in safer, cleaner and more reliable service for customers." If approved, the rates would become effective in early 2014. For more:
- read about the rate proposal Related Article:
PPL steadily increases investment in reliability Read more about: Paul Bonavia, Unisource Energy Services
back to top |
Also Noted SPOTLIGHT ON... BC Hydro delays smart meter rollout Driven by customer concerns that smart meters emit harmful radiation, violate consumers' privacy, and create a fire hazard, BC Hydro has delayed the completion of its smart meter rollout for one year. Other reasons for the delay include a lack of qualified labor. The rollout was 93 percent complete. Article >IBM: Consumers coping well with data onslaught. Article
>A new era of security breaches? Article
>Enterprise communications in 2013. Article
>NSA's cyber security secret. Article
> White paper: Cellular Communications and the Future of Smart Metering This paper focuses on Smart Metering as one of the cornerstones of the Smart Grid vision. It explores the drivers and benefits of Smart Metering in an intelligent energy grid and examines the role that cellular technology is playing in these projects. The paper also discusses the critical success factors for Smart Metering communications infrastructures and best practices when designing wireless Smart Metering solutions. Download now. > Reach Over 17K Smart Grid Professionals for $249! Market your open Smart Grid career opportunities to over 17,000 qualified Smart Grid candidates. Our career marketing package leverages a powerful combination of e-mail marketing, social media promotion and visibility to over 4,500 targeted unique site visitors every month! www.smartgridcareers.com | |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Keep a civil tongue.