Smart grids – concept gaining momentum
The benefits of Smart Grids are slowly becoming accepted. One of the catalysts for change has been that more and more utilities around the world are recognising the mounting problems presented by energy and environmental concerns. These concerns include:
- inevitable limitations on energy generation, while usage is skyrocketing;
- the decades-old networks are under greater stress;
- the utility workforces are aging and there is a resource squeeze;
- increased use of alternative energy sources in their networks;
- wastage of energy and the resulting high penalties; and
- the inevitability of carbon trading.
At present the infrastructure of the utilities is unable to deal with all of these concerns, so the usual “do-nothing” approach, or more of the same narrow(band) thinking, is no longer an option.
The utilities which are anticipating these developments are embracing the concept of an end-to-end solution in the total energy chain – from energy generation to network operation, distribution and retail services at the customer level. Those companies also understand that the consumer is part of the solution and will need to play a key role in the process.
However, the fragmentation of the industry (generation, distribution, retail) enables companies to pass the buck on to the next segment in the market. Some segments actually have no incentive whatsoever to implement energy saving solutions because they are making huge profits from energy wasting and stresses in peak demand.
It therefore doesn’t make sense for one part of the chain to move forward while another part is holding back.
Leadership is all that is needed
We are certainly not saying that smart grids are the silver bullet. We think there is now a widespread understanding that we need to address many elements of various environmental issues:
- old generators need to be upgraded and modernised;
- new alternative energy sources need to be implemented;
- energy efficiency standards for appliances and building construction need to be improved,
- education to enhance awareness about energy savings; and indeed
- smart grids.
In order to address the issues of the energy crisis, global warming and energy saving, an end-to-end business solution is required. Fiddling with one aspect only is not going to do the job.
All the technology which is needed for a smart grid is in place, so technology is not the issue.
What is needed is industry leadership, and even more importantly, government leadership.
We also believe that most of the finance required to implement smart grids will become available. Over the next decade billions will be allocated to energy networks so, with regulatory vision and leadership, smart grids can, to a large extent, be financed by existing investments.
Utilities need to be modernised
Unfortunately many electrical engineers working in the utilities have little understanding of IT and what new end-to-end business solutions can do for their network and energy management. It has been stated that the ICT industry, technologically, at least, is 10 years ahead of the utilities industry.
However, the industry is also heavily regulated and the government determines what the utilities can or can’t build. So in the absence of any encouragement or promotion from the regulator, it is understandable that many utilities are not going to build a smart grid within such a regulated environment.
This will necessitate regulators taking a different perspective on purely economic return models. The triple bottom line, which includes the social impact of not acting now as well the harsh economic analysis of recent government reports, needs to be considered by regulators to support business innovation to solve these problems. If we don’t act now, the economic and social impact will be much more severe in 20 years.
At the same time, major breakdowns in the old energy networks which involve massive outages and disasters at substations are causing the engineers to look at modern telecoms and IT technologies to help solve some of these problems. “Doing nothing” has been a great strategy for the last decade, but it is not going to work in the future.
Tightened environmental and energy legislation will inevitably result in higher penalties, and so this is another reason for utilities to start looking at smart grid solutions.
Further information is available from separate reports:
Global – Utilities Broadband – Smart Grids;
Australia – Utilities Broadband – Smart Grids.
We invite your comments: 2 Comments
February 10th, 2008 at 10:25 am
Smart Grid Project Wrth Noting
For over a hundred years power providers have essentially relied on their customers to notify them of power outages. Without any automated-detection system in place, power companies don’t know the power is out until a customer notifies them. This will change with the deployment new wireless sensors from a company based in Australia.
Telepathx Ltd, a wireless sensor developer based in Victoria, Australia, recently announced that the release of their new product will make this inherent dependency on energy customers a notion of the past. Telepathx Ltd is among the leading industry developers of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) in Australia.
The long-awaited release of Telepathx’ Pinpoint intelligent cutout sensor uses the company’s enhancements to radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to provide utility companies with the instant communications they need to pinpoint electrical outages. With Pinpoint sensors in place on a smart power grid, should a failure occur the power utility is notified within seconds of the precise location of the power failure including the specific device and cabling that have failed.
Power failure reporting at this level of precision has never before been attainable, but now with AMI technology taking shape throughout Australia, these sensors can be used that will minimize power outages to an absolute minimum.
According to April Sommers, an energy analyst, “Statistically 84% of all power outages or blackouts in urban and outer urban settings are caused by falling tree limbs or animals that come in contact with the overhead power lines, this intelligent cutout fuse technology can’t stop that from happening, but what it will do is provide an instantaneous notification to energy providers reducing the report and response times of faults from hours to mere seconds, something entire communities will benefit from.”
Previously, a power company could remain unaware of a power outage for minutes or even ours until telephoned customer complaints give a general idea where the issue is happening. Pinpoint sensors will greatly enhance a utility’s ability to respond to problems and enhance their ability to efficiently dispatch work crews to fix the problem.
Smart power grids will effectively manage themselves and notify the proper authorities when necessary. Sommers adds, “reducing customer minutes off supply or CMOS is what these guys [Pinpoint sensors] do best, forget about managing apparatus with streams of data or waiting for calls to come in; this reactive technology teaches the network to manage itself and alert authorities when something’s amiss.”
Telepathx general manager Mike Walsh confirms that “In addition to bringing intelligence to energy networks the multi purpose machine to machine (M2M) wireless sensor networks being developed by the company would for starters monitor fire ignitions, auto collisions, floods, mudslides, asset tracking and consumer/industrial alarm systems, reading water, gas and electric meters or AMR/AMI services would follow.”
It’s very clear that the ongoing effort to develop smart meter technology has very far reaching effects in efficiency, monetary savings, and enhanced public safety. Smart meters will reduce carbon emissions to the atmosphere, but will have many other consequential benefits once the items become commonplace.
James Eades, CEO of Telepathx, adds, “This communications aggregation platform was designed and developed to consolidate the fragmented communications services that exist in our urban areas, and will benefit entire communities not just the energy sector; essential service providers such as police, emergency services, transportation networks operators, utilities even sewerage plants and M2M operators would benefit from leveraging services off the platform.”
Commenting on the Pinpoint sensors, Eades said “We have developed what many are calling the optimal model for building out the intelligent distribution grid; for the simple reason that our platform goes well beyond managing energy assets to generate revenues the day it’s installed not decades. Currently we are also exploring opportunities with several smart meter manufacturers on the issue of converging and leveraging of each others platform, a move that will make meters more intelligent than ever imagined.”
Pinpoint sensors integrated into smart meters and home appliances have the potential to create home area networks (HANs) capable of remote control of appliances in the home by either the individual consumer or the power company. RFID technology operates over radio frequencies, eliminating the need to install computer equipment that other wireless technologies require.
April 30th, 2008 at 10:37 am
Smart meters are still in there infancy and the next generation of technology with be able to monitor every asset on the distribution grid and generate revenue all on its own, and this is exactly what we are providing to smart meter OEMs.
AMI investments can pay its own way.
James Eades Telepathx Australia