Grid Automation: More Than Smart Meters (AMI or AMR)

keep the air clean for our children Many energy utilities have made a move to develop a power system that combines traditional and cutting-edge technologies to support the ever-increasing array of digital services desired by customers while effectively managing the requisite flow of energy. A number of fully integrated smart grid communities (e.g. Boulder, CO) are being developed, anticipating...

Energy Transmission and Distribution Infrastructure-Cornerstone to an effective Smart Grid Network

Executive and legislative policy makers at national, state, and local levels of government are highly focused on critical infrastructure issues of all types. Their focus encompasses both infrastructure security (which has vastly increased since September 2001 and further since the Minneapolis bridge collapse in 2007) and the role that energy (specifically electricity) plays in the economic...

Energy Utilities Approaches to Grid Modernization

Successful Grid Modernization Programs There are a number of energy utilities that have adopted a holistic approach to Grid Modernization that ensures the network is properly refurbished and hardened, thus ensuring that the full benefits of SmartGrid (e.g. grid automation) are realized by the vast majority of their customers. In so doing, these utilities have been able to meet the near-term...

Electric Distribution – System Hardening and Modernization

Hardening and modernizing the electrical distribution system for any utility involve a number of related, yet separate actions. These actions are typically tied to: Effecting Repairs and Replacement, Improving Reliability, Meeting Load Projections and Modernizing the Grid Most of these actions are already incorporated in existing energy delivery operating plans, but typically in an incremental...

Expected Results and Benefits from Grid Modernization (Including SmartGrid and AMI)

Grid Modernization: Electric Infrastructure with SmartGrid and AMI Most electric customers and other stakeholders are keenly aware of the vast innovations, improvements, and cost reductions that have occurred in their telecommunications networks and they clearly recognize the benefits they have realized from them. In contrast, few customers and other stakeholders recognize the potential for...

Driving Forces behind Grid Modernization (Including Smart Grids and AMI)

There are numerous internal (i.e. to the utility, its customers, and the regulatory regime) and external (i.e. societal and technological) forces that have established a compelling need for grid modernization, and understanding these forces is central to understanding why modernization is a vital topic for each electric utility, its customers, and all its stakeholders. Forces Driving Grid...

Grid Modernization- The Path to Full Network Automation

Current priorities placed on Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and SmartGrid technologies at the highes levels of state and federal government are creating compelling pressure on every utility to commit significant investment to such initiatives. But the path to success involves a plan that integrates myriad of factors, including: Electric Grid Modernization Broad array of developed and...

Underground Residential Distribution (URD) Cable Replacement

The electric utility industry in the United States grew significantly the 1960s and 1970s (Refer to Figure 1) and this led to the installation of a large number of electric utility plant assets for generation, transmission, and distribution. Figure 1: U.S. Growth Trend - URD Cable Installation in the US 1960 - 2005 Concurrent with this spike in growth, suburban locations nationwide desired the...