Smart Grid Library

The Department of Energy lists active consumer participation as one of the most important characteristics of a Smart Grid.  This takes shape in two forms – electricity production and electricity consumption.  One of the many benefits of the Smart Grid is its ability to integrate renewable energy sources into large scale electricity production.  Another is [...]

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 prevented [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Previous blogs discussed proper introduction of Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS) solutions and In-Home Displays (IHDs) into residential consumer homes.   While these solutions hold great promise to help consumers save money and the environment through participation in energy conservation and energy efficiency programs, the development of a Consumer Enlightenment Model is absolutely critical to successful [...]

The Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced that it was taking steps to enforce Energy Efficiency standards.   This announcement and all resulting enforcement actions should be applauded, since such actions get to the heart of concerns about the viability of current standards and can restore trust in those standards.  It also implicitly acknowledges a statement [...]

My October 5 blog mentioned concerns with the Energy Star program used in the USA to guide consumers to select energy-efficient appliances.  A recent audit confirmed those concerns, according to an article published on October 18 in the New York Times.  There have been circumstances in which manufacturers have gamed the testing to produce the [...]