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Is the Smart Grid the Right Idea?

A lot of us have heard of smart meters but what about the Smart Grid? Just what is it and how will it work?

First it will be a means of control by using sensors on both the transmission and distribution of electricity. It will gather real time data and create communications to move the data between the utility and consumers. It will use the computing necessary to make this all possible.

Why do we need the smart grid?

Because in the second half of the last decade we saw a 41% increase in outages affecting 50,000 more people than in the first half of the century.

The cost of repairs is around 150 billion and climbing (that's about $500 per person in the U.S.A.)

Over the next seven years electricity prices are projected to increase 50%.

Demand for power is expected to grow 30% by 2030. The cost to pay for this growth could be as much as 1.5 trillion to fix the infrastructure.

In the winter of 2007-08 20% of Americans fell behind in their Energy Payments and 8.7 million were disconnected.

Here are some of the ideas to be implemented:

Greater use of Digital information and Control Technology.

Use of smart technologies for metering grid operations and status checks.

Development and use of smart appliances.

Consumers will be allowed to control their options.

What will it require?

First would be clear standards for interconnection. It will have to give consumers the right to participate and choose. The right to know what electricity we use. When and how much we use it to enable us to make changes if necessary to our personal usage.

Ways to make this work involving Alternative Energy Sources would be the integration of Renewables like Solar, Wind and Biomass.

Distributed Generation: Small widely dispersed plants placed in close proximity to the point of use.

Decreasing demand instead of increasing demand in response to peak loads such as Ice Storms or Hurricanes.

Similar to other alternatives like Solar power and Wind power the initial cost will be high, but over 20 years the savings could be anywhere from 47 to 117 billion. The savings would be in the area of not having to building additional power plants.

In the long run it would be less expensive and more environmentally friendly. It will reduce our independence on foreign oil. This is one side of the argument and as Ripley said: "Believe it or Not".

I believe all Americans want to conserve energy but at what cost? The other side to this argument is Cost!

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SBI!