The 21^st century started off with dire predictions of an electric infrastructure collapse, but 10 years later, the grid is still working. Instead of disintegration, a dynamic and robust smarter grid is taking shape. It has not been a slam dunk. There is a natural hesitation when deploying new technology. It has taken some time and education to separate rumors from facts, myth from reality and vapor from substance.

Thanks to a massive educational effort from manufacturers and professional organizations, the industry has come to grips with a smarter grid. In 2010, Siemens began a six-city cross-country smart grid tour, taking its technology directly to utilities.

In April 2010, ABB set up a smart grid distribution circuit at the IEEE Power & Energy Society Transmission and Distribution Exposition held in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. AREVA also had a remarkable virtual display of high-voltage DC and flexible AC transmission system smart grid equipment. Engineers and technicians were able to have hands-on time with the latest smart grid equipment

Education and Acceptance

Unfortunately, utilities have not worked as hard at educating their customers. The industry may understand the technology, but the end user does not. This is changing as utilities realize that educating and engaging customers is the long-term solution to their acceptance of smart grid evolution.

A lack of understanding on the residential customer's part has led to what is being called a “smart meter backlash”:

• Residential customers had their electromechanical meters replaced with smart (digital) meters with no warning or preparation from the utility.

• Monthly residential electric bills jumped — doubled or tripled in some cases — after the installation of smart meters.

• Legal actions to stop smart meter deployments have been initiated in several cities in Northern California.

• Residential customers in Texas petitioned the public utility commission to stop the deployment of smart meters.

As a result of the backlash, testing was performed. Utilities found that less than 1% of smart meters had any sort of mechanical problems and, accuracy-wise, the percentage was less. The technology was not the problem.

As the famous line from the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke says, “What we've got here is [a] failure to communicate.” Utilities have started adding community outreach to their smart meter deployments. To paraphrase the Department of Energy's “Smart Grid: An Introduction” report, the education of all the interested members of the public is critical to the success of the smart grid implementation.

Driving home the point, a Harris poll found that two-thirds of American electricity consumers have never heard of a smart meter. Chartwell surveyed utility customers in Canada and the United States and confirmed what the Harris poll found. Chartwell also found that of those who had heard of a smart meter, more than 10% believed the smart meter was a device to monitor their movements inside the home.

GE conducted a survey specifically asking electric consumers in the United States and Australia about their understanding of the smart grid. More than 79% of the respondents in the United States and 72% in Australia were not at all familiar with the term. Also, more than two-thirds of those claiming knowledge of the term did not know if their homes were connected to a smart grid.

On a More Positive Note

The good news is the GE survey reported that about 80% of those who had heard the term smart grid were interested in more information. They “wish” they knew more about the smart grid and how it affects them. Only 2% thought the smart grid was not a smart investment.

“We have to educate the customer,” said John McDonald, director of technology strategy and policy development for GE Digital Energy. “The customers have to understand what is taking place for the smart grid to succeed. If people don't understand something, chances are they will not participate.”

To increase knowledgeable consumers, many manufacturers are helping utilities with consumer education programs.

“Consumer education and acceptance are essential keys to unlocking the economic and societal benefits a nationwide smart grid can deliver,” stated McDonald.

A good example of this effort is GE's Smart Grid Technology Center of Excellence in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. The facility opened in 2010 with about 10,000 sq ft (929 sq m) of exhibition area. GE is planning video demonstrations and interactive displays explaining exactly what the smart grid is and why it is the future.

Gary Rackliffe, ABB's vice president of smart grid, said, “ABB introduced customer-side smart grid technology in Europe first. With the knowledge gained there, the transition in North America should be easier. ABB has also found electric customers want more information, and they want innovative technology that is intuitive, too.”

IBM announced it will invest roughly US$1 billion in energy and environment solutions. IBM's consumer research has shown that roughly 31% of residential and small commercial customers fall into the passive ratepayer category, energy consumers who are relatively uninterested in making decisions concerning energy usage. The other 69% are interested and fall into categories that run from some interest to highly motivated with specific energy-usage goals. The one-size-fits-all approach does not work in today's marketplace.

No Turning Back

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) recently published a white paper titled “Accuracy of Digital Electric Meters.” EPRI has found the transition from the electromechanical to solid-state meter is not a choice but a necessity for utilities who intend to offer time-of-use pricing.

“Manufacturers are no longer making electromechanical meters for the North American marketplace,” said Brian Seal, senior project manager for EPRI. “There is, however, a stockpile of used electromechanical meters sitting in warehouses. There is also a market for rebuilt electromechanical meters, but there are no electromechanical meters coming off the production lines.”

Ahead of the Curve

The EPRI report also pointed out that three-phase commercial and industrial (C&I) meters were the first meters to transition to the solid-state world in the 1980s. By the 1990s, they were the norm, and those meters were a great deal more complex than today's residential digital meters. The C&I digital meters provided large C&I customers sophisticated energy-usage data, which allowed power brokers to aggregate, or combine, large commercial loads. This permitted C&I customers to purchase electricity at greatly discounted rates.

Disruptive Technology or Killer Apps

The utilities' C&I customers also were the first to make the connection between energy management and saving money on energy. They have succeeded by making energy management noninvasive and automatic to the point the C&I customers are not aware it is taking place.

Soon independent third-party companies like Verisae developed strategies for medium and smaller C&I clients to increase their energy efficiencies.

“The first step is to perform an energy audit of their client's facilities,” said Paul Hepperla, vice president of product strategy for Verisae. “We needed to identify energy consumption and the loads that are available for control.”

According to Hepperla, “On the average, the energy audits identified 80 kW to 120 kW of reductions at each facility by good management practices. Using Verisae's active energy- response software enabled clients to increase savings substantially. Verisae aggregates all of the client's facilities by web-based technology to track energy consumption and control their loads in real time.”