Despite All that has been Written About the Intelligent Grid and Its Advanced Technologies, it is still very much misunderstood. Go to a gathering of utility people, ask for the definition of the intelligent grid and prepare to be surprised — very few have a clear, concise picture.

This is much like the first time I sat in the cockpit of a B-52. I was overwhelmed by what was directly in front of me. I had never seen such a complex array of instruments — knobs, switches, gages and circuit breakers. After my initial panic subsided, I noticed the instruments were arranged in organized clusters of eights: eight fuel gages, eight engine temperature gages, etc. It was an eight-engine aircraft. Things started to make sense and my confusion diminished.

The intelligent grid is much like that. It's about an advanced technology of sensors, monitors, high-speed communications and data-trending software designed to move us into the 21^st century, with a digital utility to match the digital world of our customers. The goal of the intelligent grid is to provide greater reliability, safety, choice and flexibility. Like the B-52 is an airplane, the intelligent grid is a power system. It's confusing only when you try to see everything without breaking it down into manageable portions. It is still transmission, distribution and the customer.

To make matters worse, the many different groups involved with the grid refer to it by several different names. It is the intelligent grid. My friend Steve Pullins of the Modern Grid Initiative told me he has a list of more than 20 different names and groups associated with this concept. Another friend, Doug Houseman of the Smart Energy Alliance, said his list has more than 30 names and is growing. There are GridWise, GridWorks, GridApps, Galvin Initiative, InteliGrid, Smart Energy Alliance, NETL Modern Grid Initiative, DV-2010, HAN and CERTS, just to name a few.

It is no wonder that confusion abounds, so I was excited when Transmission & Distribution World's Editorial Director Rick Bush sent me to the GridWeek conference in Washington, D.C. The conference organizer, Anto Budiardjo, managed to gather intelligent grid experts from utilities, manufacturers, consultants, government agencies and regulators. It gave me the opportunity to meet with other people like myself and exchange ideas about the advancements we call the intelligent grid. Heck, I have to confess I am a techno-nerd in good standing. Yes, I gave up the pocket protector, but my PDA has a scientific calculator.

I spent more than 30 years working with the intelligent grid technology for a couple of mid-sized utilities. I have been involved with both the development and installation of a back-to-back high-voltage dc converter station, a couple of wind farm interconnections, some flexible ac transmission system (FACTS) devices and other assorted high-tech toys. I am also a senior member of the IEEE's Power Engineering Society (PES) and chair the PES T&D committee. PES gives me the opportunity to learn about new technologies and offers me access to some of the finest engineers and scientists. Even with that background, it can be a challenge sorting out what is actually new versus what has a new name, what is available versus what is conceptual, and what is real versus what is vaporware.

FOCUS ON BULK TRANSMISSION

This supplement is the third in a four-part series on the intelligent grid technology. The first provided an overview of the issues surrounding the intelligent grid. The second focused on the distribution portion of the business and the new schemes available. Now, we are covering the intelligent bulk transmission system.

Expect to see more awareness of bulk transmission as the intelligent grid matures. Although the transmission system doesn't get the attention-grabbing headlines common to the distribution system or the customer connection unless there is a major blackout, I can assure you it is quietly becoming intelligent, too.

Megawatts are no longer sufficient. The transmission system is being asked to supply electricity in gigawatt portions to meet today's insatiable appetite for electricity. We need more transmission lines, but the opposition to new lines seriously impacts a utility's ability to build them.

Advanced technologies are making the difference. We have new power electronics technologies that give us the capability to transfer large blocks of power over extremely long distances and overcome grid congestion issues. High-temperature superconductors carry more power than conventional copper and aluminum cables. Monitoring systems have the ability to shift maintenance from being time-based to condition-based. Interoperability standards allowed IEC 61850-based substations using multiple suppliers to be installed on transmission systems. It is an ambitious undertaking, but the technology is available and it is being applied every day to improve the robustness and reliability of the bulk transmission system.