Smart Grid Library

It’s difficult to imagine life without electricity.  Our lives and lifestyles are so thoroughly intertwined with electricity that any disruptions in power can rapidly transform from minor inconveniences into life-threatening situations.  Thus the need for grid modernization – the Smart Grid – is vital to ensure that we continue to enjoy safe, reliable, and affordable [...]

Smart Grid deployments are not only delivering improved energy security, grid reliability, and consumer control to us, they are bringing the Internet of Things closer to reality.  The Internet of Things (IoT) is defined in the Smart Grid Dictionary as a conceptual description of the ability to connect any objects with an IP address and some [...]

The recent exits of Google’s PowerMeter and Microsoft’s Hohm products targeted at consumers have some industry watchers asking if residential consumers really care about home energy consumption data.  Where we once had a monthly bill that simply indicated the previous month’s kilowatthours of electricity use, smart meters can provide data as often as needed (although [...]

Smart meters can be positively transformative for consumers to control their use of electricity.  But there are concerns about them that are threatening to slow down deployments in some areas. That has ramifications to Smart Grid plans everywhere. The three categories of concerns about smart meters are:    meter accuracy – smart meters are have been [...]

Smart meters are a source of contention in some areas of the USA, slowing down Smart Grid progress. What is it about a communicating meter – one that uses radio frequencies to transmit consumption information – that is causing opposition? Reasons fall in three categories. The first category is meter accuracy – smart meters are [...]

Utilities have a real challenge in succinctly communicating the benefits of smart meters.  Some benefits are not easily distilled into sound-bites.  However, utilities must improve their outreach to consumers to ensure that consumers understand the role of smart meters in helping them save money; helping utilities keep costs and electricity rates down; and reducing carbon [...]

The devastating earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan offer horrifying visuals of a geologic worst case scenario.   It may also deliver a worst case disaster scenario for their national electrical system as some nuclear plants are beyond repair.  According to the Department of Energy’s global statistics,  in 2007 nuclear power accounted for only 11% of [...]

“The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress.”  Charles F. Kettering, American inventor of the electrical ignition system and early distributed generation devices, made this observation.  As an inventor, he had ample experience as a change agent in trying to explain new ideas and technologies to skeptical potential customers [...]

My blog dated April 19 focused on PG&E activities that seemed to be designed to kill the spirit and the objectives of the Smart Grid.  Since then, PG&E has admitted that mistakes were made in some meter installs (although my PG&E smart meter functions perfectly, thank you very much), the tariff change is wending its way [...]

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 [...]