Smart Grid Library

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change begins its latest meeting today in Durban, South Africa.  Only the sunniest of optimists expect real progress in forging a global agreement as developing and developed nations argue about voluntary versus legally binding emissions reductions and funding measures.     There’s no single answer to the climate change [...]

“You can always count on Americans to do the right thing – after they’ve tried everything else.”  Winston Churchill made this statement in the context of a World War and a Cold War.  Today, the context is a new “arms race” – to be the global leader in energy security technologies encompassing clean energy sources, [...]

The news coming from PG&E these days is trending from bad to worse for the Smart Grid and for this country’s citizens.  First they created a public relations disaster with their smart meter rollout, which now has its own term called “the Bakersfield effect”.  PG&E investment in a sensible communications plan and budget could have [...]

As a telecom veteran, I sometimes get a sense of deja vu at Smart Grid conferences.  There are some strong similarities between the telecom industry of 25 years ago and electric utilities today.  I know how much the utility industry hates to hear that but it is true.  Here are the similarities and important lessons [...]

Last week I wrote about Smart Grid Rule #1:  You know you have a Smart Grid when you have choices about the type of energy you want to purchase at a price that is acceptable to you – you can buy pure solar or wind-produced electricity, a mixture of any clean energies, or the cheapest [...]