Smart Grid Library

Ben Franklin, the first American genius, achieved fame and notoriety for his electricity research, which included that famous kite-flying experiment.  But did you know that he first described the concept of treating energy efficiency as an energy resource?  He memorably stated “A penny saved is a penny earned,” back in the 1700s, but today he [...]

California voters convincingly voted down the attempt by certain oil companies to abandon clean air legislation to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions first enacted back in 2006.  The vote breakdown shows that regardless of party affiliation, voters in all but 17 of the state’s 58 counties rejected this proposition summed up in a lopsided 61% to [...]

The State of California mandated that the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) work with the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) and California Energy Commission (CEC) to create requirements for a Smart Grid deployment plan by July of this year. These three entities held workshops this past week to gather information and offer researchers, consumers, product [...]

Don’t you just love acronyms?  I do, which is a good thing since I write the Smart Grid Dictionary, which is loaded with them.  Acronyms are shorthand for common phrases, and there are certainly plenty of them in the Smart Grid business.    Imagine my delight when I encountered a new acronym last week – BUGS.  [...]

Update on the CEC TV Energy Efficiency Standards There was plenty of “whine” on November 4, or to be exact, at 4:55PM on November 3, when the CEA sent a 91 page document 5 minutes ahead of the 5:00PM deadline for comments on the California Energy Commission’s (CEC) proposed TV energy efficiency standards. In order [...]

November 4th will be a busy day in California.  It’s the date of an important energy efficiency standards meeting and the date for the  UCLA WINSmartGrid Connection– the 3rd leadership forum that will discuss the state of the transmission and distribution power grids and future Smart Grid directions. This forum, and others like it that [...]

Energy efficiency standards work, and giving consumers information about energy consumption also helps us make informed decisions that reduce our overall energy use and help the environment.