SmartGrid

Electricity generation capacity has outstripped electricity distribution capacity due to regulatory changes. Parts of the distribution system operate above rated load capacity while others operate below capacity as demand shifts (e.g., air conditioning during heat waves).

IT has helped manage this uneven behavior through “cutout” devices that turn off high-consumption devices at the building level – electric water heaters, air conditioning compressors – when demand rises too high.  Still, the distribution system remains largely passive: power flows into the system and runs “downhill” via circuits to the customers.

The system could be improved greatly through use of Smart Grid technologies.

Smart Grid conservation.

The biggest opportunity for the Smart Grid is smart distribution and consumption, achieved by adding IT: displaying energy prices to consumers, providing disaggregated energy and water bills, real-time feedback to homeowners, and adding sensors and intelligent controls to the distribution network.  Customers (or their automated agents) will be able to monitor dynamic energy prices, and control usage, for example:

• Smart appliances (e.g., dishwashers that figure out optimal times to run in order to minimize impact)
• Electric vehicles that decide whether to charge or draw power from an electric vehicle battery
• Systems to provide feedback to the consumer on all aspects of energy use (what are you really saving by turning out lights? by changing your thermostat by one degree?) – a disaggregated bill typically enables a 15-20% reduction in household resource consumption

Control of the Smart Grid. 

Utilities could computationally model customer usage of the grid, enabling them to anticipate usage (integrating fine-grain weather predictions), respond to load imbalances, and automatically isolate failing portions of the grid to reduce or prevent power outages.  Distributed IT-based control systems can enable self-healing and reconfiguration of the grid in response to failures or attacks. Machine learning methods can be used to identify and prioritize at-risk portions of the distribution system and drive control decisions such as reconfiguration and dispatching of repair crews.  

Engineering the Smart Grid. 

IT enables engineering of the Smart Grid just as it has enabled the building of far more sophisticated aircraft and cars. IT simulation will enable confident incorporation into the grid of new components such as 

• Switches, sensors, and programmable controllers for offices, homes and businesses  
• Energy storage systems (e.g., electric vehicles and superbatteries) 
• Local generation (wind, solar, hydro, tide, diesel, cogeneration, geothermal, etc.) 
• Disaggregation sensing technologies (i.e., systems capable of inferring appliance-level and fixture-level consumption in the home); these technologies must be a simple retrofit solution

IT simulations can ensure and improve power quality, optimize designs for efficiency, reliability, and robustness, and minimize capital costs and on-going expenses. Simulations can allow testing under a variety of challenging near-term and long-term scenarios, including energy cost changes, severe weather, terrorist attack, climate change, demographic changes, etc.

Environmental Benefits of the Smart Grid

• Energy efficiency – Increased asset utilization made possible by smarter energy management means more efficient power plant operation and fewer peaking units.  Utilities stand to benefit from a higher rate of return on capital investment and lower costs.

• Delaying new power plants and transmission lines – The ability to effectively manage load with existing T&D infrastructure means that utilities no longer have to build infrastructure for the peak hours of the year.  This could allow utilities to delay additional investments into new transmission lines and generation facilities.

• Distributed generation – The ability to dynamically manage all sources of power on the grid means that more distributed generation can be integrated with the grid.  While not all distributed generation is clean or efficient, the open possibility for distributed solar and wind power is important.  This would benefit utilities in managing distributed generation as well as firms that would benefit from improved reliability.

• Mass-scale renewables – According to the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) Integrating wind or solar power into the grid at levels higher than 20% will require advanced energy management techniques.  These include load curtailment, demand response, and energy storage.  The EWEA recently published a report recommending the use of demand response as a natural tool for managing variability in wind resources.  This is a key message for wind and solar producers, as it increases the size of their potential market.

• Clean power market – The ability to stabilize the power consumption over time for an area using demand response will make it easier to establish a power market.  Clean power sources will be able to participate in the market even though they may have a stochastic energy output.  This is a benefit to clean power producers.

• Consumer incentive for conservation – With the rollout of advanced metering and real-time pricing customers will finally see the economic incentives for reducing power consumption.

• Support for PHEVs and V2G – The modern grid is a necessity for enabling the next generation of automotive vehicles.  The lack of an integrated communications infrastructure with corresponding price signals will make it difficult to handle the increased load of plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles.  Smart chargers, time-of-use rates, and advanced meters will be key players, helping to manage a very complex control problem on already constrained grids, especially in places such as California.  Car manufacturers will benefit from having an integrated, simple charging solution for customers with electric cars.

• Support for more intelligent appliances at the demand-side – A modern grid means smarter appliances. Appliance manufacturers will be able to market grid-friendly appliances for a premium to consumers.

• Demand Response for Managing Air Pollution – Part of the problem of urban air pollution is that it follows “peak hour” patterns, in many areas exceeding allowable levels only for a few days or hours during the year.  Levels of ozone and particulate matter sometimes reach levels that are harmful to human health.  These peaks often correspond with high electricity use, which is a prominent cause of urban air pollution in many places.

• Advanced metering as a method of calculating environmental footprints – Utilities have the opportunity to dynamically present electricity use alongside with carbon emissions that result from them.  Utilities that want to promote their “green electricity” programs can use this to reach environmentally conscious consumers.  Organizations and individuals can use this to help assess their progress towards their greenhouse gas emissions goals.