Smart Grid Library

Energy efficiency is “the first fuel to set priorities about design, deployment, and use of any devices or materials that consume electricity or contribute to its consumption.” (Definition from the Smart Grid Dictionary, 2nd Edition). It is also called “low-hanging fruit” to describe that it is the easiest and cheapest way to avoid the purchase [...]

The Gulf of Mexico oil spill now polluting fragile wetlands of several states is an environmental and economic disaster.  This is the downside of an addiction to oil, and it should serve as a potent reminder of the strategic value that electric vehicles will have to eliminating significant sources of carbon emissions and that crap [...]

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 [...]

Electric vehicles (EVs) are important pieces in the Smart Grid puzzle.  EVs will play an increasingly important dual role in transport and energy storage.  This role change has consequences that impact consumer lifestyles, wallets, and decision-making processes.  And unfortunately, there’s little being communicated to consumers at this point in time. 
For example, I recently attended an [...]

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.  [...]

The message in Bill Clinton’s first presidential campaign, “It’s the economy, stupid” is a great example of a focused communications strategy.  Utilities and vendors of energy solutions and services that require figurative and literal buy-in of ratepayers and consumers need to create focused and layered communications strategies with them in mind.  Your success depends on [...]

Microgrids are natural innovation zones for the Smart Grid because they have experimentation scalability and flexibility.  Smart utilities could create partnerships with academic and business campuses in their territories to deploy microgrids and study the most effective solutions for management of distributed generation.  Why distributed generation?  Because smart utilities should leverage the abilities of microgrids [...]

The Smart Grid industry is a veritable tower of Babel when it comes to terminology, jargon, and acronyms.  There are several reasons for this starting with the number of domains that comprise the Smart Grid.  The conceptual model for the Smart Grid maps out Generation, Transmission, and Distribution, plus Markets, Operations, Service Providers, and Consumption.  [...]

There are more signs that the brouhaha over PG&E’s smart meter rollout may do damage to other utilities’ plans for similar deployments.  News reports indicate that utilities and regulatory agencies in other states are closely watching the legal tangle devolve in California.  Consumer advocacy groups in California are concerned that smart meters are expensive, inaccurate [...]