Customer service orientation.  When was the last time your utility asked you to complete a customer survey rating their service?  There was a time when telecommunications companies didn’t forge much of a relationship with customers, but competition has changed that situation.  There is nothing that prevents utilities from developing more outreach to ratepayers to obtain feedback.  Telecom companies learned to do it through advisory boards, customer satisfaction metrics, and communication plans that deliver news in multitude of channels to effectively push information.  Today’s ratepayer may be tomorrow’s customer with a selection of vendors who buy and sell electricity.  Smart utilities should develop Consumer Enlightenment Models now in anticipation of a future with more retail choices.   

Mobility.  Once upon a time, phones were tethered to physical locations. Today, phones roam around, and telecom companies produce billing records that identify date, time, place, and length of calls as well as text messages, internet use, and manage price schedules based on time, geography, and other factors.  The advent of electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) mean that electric meters will be roaming around in large numbers.  Utilities can take a few lessons from telecom companies about billing systems that track roaming charges and required changes to internal operations to support mobile meters. 

Technology adoption at the network edge.   The telecom industry and the electric utility industry share a common and ingrained fear – the fear of unproven technologies.  There’s a sound basis for this fear – given the vital services provided by electric utilities and the phone companies, it would be unthinkable to introduce a new product or application that could bring down a network delivering either electricity or dial tone.  It would also be a career-killer.  Therefore, any new technology undergoes rigorous testing in internal labs, and this testing is duplicated in each utility because each utility network is unique.  This testing process means that technologies are adopted at a slower pace than is commonly seen in some industries, and discourages innovation. 

The “edge” of today’s electrical grid is where the meter hangs on the wall.  The Smart Grid pushes the edge into residences and businesses, and this is the area of great innovation potential.  Smart meters, whether new or retrofitted electromechanicals, are similar to smart phones – there are many applications that can be enabled by them.  This means opportunities to identify external test labs and develop certification programs that do not endorse any edge products but do provide assurances that they won’t “break” the network either.   Utilities should study how the mobile telecom carriers accommodate innovations at the edge of their networks – smart phone applications – and take some notes about setting up simulation programs and testing environments. 

There are other similarities between telecom and electric utilities as well, but these listed here, plus the deeply embedded sense of mission and monopoly skills noted in last week’s blog make the case that forward-thinking utilities should learn from history instead of re-living it.

It’s a tough job – and the Commissioners are asking good questions such as “What should they do to encourage utilities to deploy Smart Grid solutions in absence of firm standards for interoperability and security?”  “What are the benefits that new technologies bring to consumers, and what are the costs to consumers?”  How do they prioritize all the many efforts that can be deployed in the Smart Grid arena to maximize beneficial impacts?  Here are three topics that are getting lots of time in their sessions. 

Smart meters – interoperability

Everyone is concerned about standards for interoperability for meters – ensuring that meters from different manufacturers deliver common data that can be managed by Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS).  Consider the implications of interoperability decisions.  The right decisions mean that consumers get more information and control of their energy consumption at the right price points.  The wrong decisions can mean increased consumer costs for energy and services that are not as information-rich as they could be.  No commission wants to structure regulatory policies that influence utility choices of technologies that are proprietary and unable to connect to the larger regional grid.  Commissioners are careful to want to avoid picking winners and losers in technology solutions, but understand that they need to help utilities make smart decisions that reflect not only the regional interests but national grid interests as well. 

Smart Grid – security

Critical infrastructure – ranging from transmission lines and distribution substations to the internal computer networks and software that manages customer information and billing – is the focus of many discussions about secure protection.  As the Smart Grid will use more networked applications for demand response and energy efficiency programs as well as more automation and optimization of transmission and distribution systems on a greater interconnected scale, it is vitally important that networks are secure and architected to provide layers of authorized access to private virtual networks.  There are a lot of potential threats to overall grid reliability and stability out there, and the public utility commissions and staff are well aware that their policies can have national security implications.

Smart energy devices – registration

The Smart Grid will have smart energy devices – specifically meters and energy storage devices, such as electric vehicles or home batteries.  Some Commission staff members are talking about numbering plans for these devices, because whether these are IP addresses or phone numbers, it entails literally millions of new addresses or numbers to be allocated for their use.  In addition to fixed devices like meters, electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) will also require addresses or phone numbers to support roaming charges – so no matter where your electric car is charging or discharging, the debit or credit is posted to your utility account. 

Fascinating stuff, and there are no easy answers out there.  What are the implications for you, dear readers?  You need to be aware of the decisions that your Public Utility Commissions are making since they can impact your energy bills, and give you a bigger role  and better tools in consuming energy in smart and sustainable ways.  The Commissioners and their staffs want your educated feedback to help them ensure that your regulated utilities are effective and active participants in building the Smart Grid and giving you the energy services you want and need.