Top 5 Smart Grid Trends to Watch in 2014: Mid-Year Report Card
Last Jan. 9, I listed the top five trends in the smart grid arena I thought would bear watching in 2014, and on April 10, I promised you a July update on those five trends. Here it is.
And in case one of those trends has become a hot button for you, this is a convenient summary of this half-year’s news items on that trend.
There have been twelve issues of The Smarter Grid (TSG) issued in January through June. Those issues contained a total of 156 news items. Here’s how those 156 items relate to my top five trends:
1. Smart meter roll-outs will continue worldwide.
TSG related news items: 23 (15%):
- Public Service of New Hampshire to Implement Advanced Metering System
- Guam Power Authority Wrapping Up Meter Deployment
- Denmark to Roll Out Smart Meters
- Inland Power & Light Co. Installing 40,000 Digital Electric Meters
- German Utility EnBW to Pilot Smart Metering System
- SaskPower and SaskEnergy Deploy FlexNet AMI
- United Power Orders Next Phase of 'Smart Grid As A Service'
- Austrian Energy Supplier Contracts for Smart Grid Solution
- Six Electric Cooperatives Move Forward with Aclara's Powerline Communications
- Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority Selects Advanced Metering Infrastructure
- Landis+Gyr Announces Contracts with 13 Utilities in 2014
- FirstEnergy to Enact Grid Modernization Project across Pennsylvania Territory
- Orlando Utilities Commission Upgrades to Smart Meters
- CG Participates in 10 AMI Pilot Runs Globally
- FirstEnergy to Deploy Smart Meters for Two Million Customers in Pennsylvania
- Itron to Participate in Major Japanese Smart Metering Deployment
- ComEd Smart Meters Certified by UL
- Advanced Meter Fort Collins
- Norway Service Provider Orders Smart Metering Platform
- Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Expands Contract with Itron
- Spanish Utility Gas Natural Fenosa Orders 750,000 ZIV Smart Meters
- India's West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Co. Orders Digital Meters
- ComEd Receives Approval to Accelerate Smart Meter Installation, Benefits
2. Managed services, also called subscription-based services or software-as-a-service (SaaS), will increase.
TSG related news items: 8 (5%).
- Skiatook, Oklahoma, to Use SaaS Grid Modernization Technology
- Oregon Electric Utility Selects Cloud-Based Meter Data Management System
- Mississippi City to Use Smart Grid Solutions as a Service
- United Power Orders Next Phase of 'Smart Grid As A Service'
- Itron Offers Subscription-Based Services with Smart Grid and AMI
- Utilities Tap Leidos for its Smart Grid as a Service Offering
- Cloud-Based Version of Smart Grid Communications Network Management System
- Utility Spending on Smart Grid as a Service Will Total $57.6 Billion from 2014 through 2023
3. Demand response activity will increase, not just for the traditional industrial customers, but commercial and even residential customers, as every customer becomes enabled by the smart grid.
TSG related news items: 8 (5%).
- Colorado Springs Utilities Selects Advanced Load Management Program
- Automated Demand Response Sites Will Reach Nearly 2 Million Worldwide by 2023
- Connecticut's United Illuminating Launches Storage Pilot including Demand Response
- CPS Energy to Use Automated Demand Response Technology
- Candi Controls and IPKeys Technologies Partner to Extend OpenADR 2.0 to Everyday Devices
- Spending on Automated Demand Response Will Surpass $185 Million by 2023
- Con Edison Orders Demand Response Management System
- Mobile Thermostat App and Updated Demand Optimizer Demand Response Management System Application
4. Both new back office systems and front office systems, such as customer information systems (CIS), will be installed to leverage smart grid data.
TSG related news items: 15 (10%).
- Utility Spending on Smart Grid IT Systems Will Reach Nearly $20 Billion by 2022
- Ontario’s Smart Metering System to Use Time-Series Relational Database
- Software Uses Advanced Data Analytics to Prevent Transformer Outages
- Silver Spring Networks Unveils New Sensor Network
- Siemens Introduces New Distribution Management System for Smart Grids
- Advanced System Integrates OMS, DMS
- Advanced Meter Program Analyzes Data
- Elster Releases Guide to Unlocking the Value of Meter Data
- Energy Data Management Platform Tested by IBM
- Utilities in Early Stages of Deploying Big Data and Analytics
- Utility Spending on Smart Grid IT Systems Will Total Nearly $140 Billion from 2014 through 2022
- Gridstream Meter Data Management System Enhanced
- Baltimore Gas and Electric Deploys Smart Grid Analytics
- Swedish Utility Creating Smart Electricity Network
- Southern California Edison Selects Software for Energy Efficiency Program for Commercial Customers
5. Security systems for the smart grid will improve, not just to prevent cyber attacks, but to address the privacy concerns of the average customer.
TSG related news items: 6 (4%).
- German Utility EnBW to Pilot Smart Metering System
- EU Agency: Cyber Security is Crucial to Smart Grid Protection
- Aclara Offers Wireless Communications on Verizon's Network
- Cyber Security Research Alliance Initiates First Research and Development Projects with Universities
- Software Helps Organizations Protect Critical Data
- System Continuously Monitors Grid Network, Identifies and Addresses Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities
The total number of TSG news items related to these five trends is 60 (38% of 156). Hopefully, this summary will be helpful to many of you.
