Echelon to use a first-of-its-kind embedded T-Mobile SIM

T-Mobile USA, Inc. has developed what it describes as a first-of-its-kind embedded subscriber identity module (SIM).

The SIM is designed to withstand challenging environmental factors like temperature, humidity and motion to deliver reliable wireless connectivity, ideal for vehicle telematics and smart grid infrastructure solutions.

T-Mobile USA said the embedded SIM, slightly larger than the head of a pin, will be built of silicon rather than plastic, making it very durable, since too much heat, vibration, or humidity can damage traditional SIM cards.

Among the first to implement the embedded SIM into its M2M systems is Echelon Corp. The companies have formed an alliance to accelerate the adoption of the smart grid in the North American market by reducing the cost of communicating smart metres using Echelon's Networked Energy Services (NES) system over T-Mobile's GSM cellular service.

As part of the agreement, Echelon will utilise a first-of-its-kind embedded T-Mobile SIM within a cellular radio module to enable all the Echelon smart metres on a given low voltage transformer to communicate back to the utility over the smart grid.

Echelon, which has shipped more than 100,000 of its smart metres to U.S. utility owner Duke Energy and more than 1.6 million worldwide, said the partnership with T-Mobile would provide a cost-effective communications tool for the metres. Its metres reportedly cost about $100 apiece excluding installation.

The partnership’s wireless technology will be deployed on low-voltage transformers, which typically provide electricity connections to between four and 10 homes or businesses. Data provided from the transformers to a central collection point at the utility will allow the power provider to easily pinpoint problems in the network and reduce cost and duration of power outages.

A new device to protect New York City’s electrical system

Zenergy Power has been contracted by The Consolidated Edison Company to build and test a smart grid device to improve the stability and reliability of New York City’s electrical system.

The equipment, known as a Fault Current Limiter (FCL), instantly detects and absorbs spikes in power that, left unmanaged, could damage electrical equipment or trigger power outages.

In practice, Zenergy’s FCL is electrically connected to the grid it protects. It allows normal current to pass through unimpeded but, when it senses a fault current, instantly counters the electrical flow. This reaction, created in part by the superconductor in the device, chokes off a potentially damaging electrical spike. Once the fault current subsides, the FCL again allows standard levels of current to flow, protecting the electrical system automatically without human intervention.

This approach has the advantage of being able to absorb long-duration faults or multiple faults occurring in succession.

Con Edison, a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, authorised a project to design, build and test a single-phase FCL of a type that would be applicable to a number of substations within the utility’s electrical system.

Zenergy expects to deliver the prototype by the end of August.

Fault current limiters will be an essential element of the smart grid to maintain reliability and improve its resilience and flexibility, said Pat Duggan, a Con Edison project manager and specialist in fault current limiters.

“This is especially important as the load grows, including the move to electricity as a preferred source for new uses such as plug-in hybrids,” added Duggan.

Tests that Zenergy conducts in its development of the FCL for Con Edison will ensure the device is able to protect equipment from the damaging effects of fault currents that occur on the utility’s 13.8 kilovolt (kV) “feeder system” -- an electrical distribution network that delivers power to customers. At the conclusion of testing, Zenergy expects to extend its designs to other FCLs that are customised for protecting Con Edison and other utilities’ equipment on higher voltage lines of up to 138kV.

CPower raises $10m

Energy management firm CPower has closed its Series B round of financing, indicating that VCs are interested in technology that makes energy grid more intelligent.

This $10.68 million investment was led by a new investor in the company, Mayfield Fund, as well as returning investors, including Bessemer Venture Partners, Expansion Capital Partners, Schneider Electric Ventures, New York City Investment Fund and Consensus Business Group.

The proceeds will be used to accelerate business growth in new geographies and vertical markets, and to continue the development of its turnkey energy management solutions.

The company offers a range of energy management programmes including demand response capacity, reserves and regulation, energy efficiency, peak load management and white certificates.

CPower had bagged $17 million in its Series A funding in 2007.

In another development, CPower has been chosen to support plastics manufacturer Spartech Corporation’s energy conservation programme. The company will use CPower’s energy management demand response solution to reduce electric energy consumption at various facilities in North America.

Spartech has committed to curtail up to 10 megawatts of electricity capacity upon request by the regional transmission organisations responsible for calling demand response events when the grid is under stress. CPower will help manage this process at approximately 10 facilities throughout the U. S.

Initiative taken for new HomePlug specifications

The HomePlug Powerline Alliance, an industry-led initiative that creates specifications and certification logo programmes for using the powerlines for reliable home networking and smart grid applications, has worked on smart grid technology path.

The Alliance has completed its Market Requirements Document (MRD) for HomePlug Smart Energy.

The MRD will guide the development of new HomePlug specifications. It will help in creation of a new class of powerline communications products that offer lower cost, low power consumption while also being fully interoperable with the current HomePlug AV standard and the forthcoming IEEE 1901 standard - at data rates tailored to meet the anticipated future requirements of smart energy management.

Through its Smart Energy Initiative, HomePlug is focusing on adopting communications and networking technologies to help consumers monitor and reduce their energy consumption. It is actively collaborating with utility companies and the ZigBee Alliance to help build the Home Area Network ecosystem.

The Alliance has also announced the addition of Gigle Semiconductor, Intellon Corporation, NEC Electronics Corporation and SPiDCOM Technologies to the organisation's Board of Directors.

“Smart metering will revolutionise energy management and grid reliability”

The US industry has welcomed the signing into law of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and its ambitious provisions to modernise the U.S. electricity grid.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act contains specific provisions for the establishment of a $4.2 billion grant programme that will support the rollout of smart grid and smart metering projects across the country. Smart metering solutions provide utilities with a two-way flow of data required to manage energy use, efficiency, demand response and network protection. Consumers benefit from improved usage information and with it, the ability to reduce overall energy costs and carbon footprints.

Terming the development as a “huge victory for forward-looking utilities and consumers”, Richard Mora, CEO of Landis+Gyr North America said, “National demand for electricity is growing three times faster than power resources are being added, making energy conservation critical. The federal government has now joined in the drive to build a smart and dynamic grid infrastructure.”

“Make no mistake, smart metering will revolutionise energy management and grid reliability across the country,” Mora said.

Landis+Gyr pointd out that the potential benefits are enormous. A recent Brattle Group study found that just a five percent drop in peak demand nationally would eliminate the need for installing and running some 625 infrequently used peaking power plants, translating into annual savings of approximately $3 billion. The Department of Energy recently estimated that if the US grid were just five percent more efficient, it would be the equivalent of eliminating the fuel and greenhouse gas emissions of 53 million cars.

Talks of developing smart grid gain momentum in the US

Even as many states in the US have initiated adoption of policies to move towards efficient transmission systems, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif has poined out that the nation needs a national framework for planning, developing and financing transmission infrastructure.

According to chron.com, Congressional leaders in the US pushing to modernise the nation’s electrical transmission system signaled they want to put the federal government in control of decisions normally left to state authorities, from regulating electrical rates to deciding where to place power lines and poles.

Also, Democratic congressional leaders and the Obama administration recently indicated that that they will push for greater federal authority to locate electric transmission lines.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he will soon introduce legislation that gives federal regulators authority to override states on electric grid placement decisions as part of a package of energy proposals the Senate is expected to take up in the coming weeks, reported AP.

Pelosi also called for expansion of the nation’s power transmission grid and development of a “smart grid” that allows increased efficiency and access to remote wind and solar energy resources. She said addressing the grid issue “is essential to all that we do” to promote renewable fuels.

EnerNOC posts $106.1m in revenues in 2008

EnerNOC, Inc. ended 2008 with $106.1 million in revenues. This represents a 74 percent year-over-year growth.

The company’s network delivered over 100 percent performance on average based on nominated versus delivered capacity in more than 100 demand response events, according to its CEO, Chairman, and Co-Founder, Tim Healy.

“Our attractive applications in combination with our stable grid operator and utility customer base and our own financial strength and visibility give us confidence in the following 2009 corporate objectives,” said Healy, who added that the company expects its revenues to grow approximately 55 percent over 2008 to a range of $155 to $170 million.

Through the first seven weeks of 2009, the company has signed two new utility contracts in Arizona and Colorado worth over $35 million in combined potential revenue. It has added over 500 new megawatts under management to its demand response network, and has also developed an MBCx pipeline that is stronger than its internal projections for this point in time.

EnerNOC recently entered into an eight-year contract with Public Service Company of Colorado, an Xcel Energy company, to provide up to 44 megawatts of demand response capacity. The company highlighted that states like Colorado and Nevada are at the forefront of developing market dynamics that allow utilities to benefit financially from increased investments in demand response and energy efficiency.

Avoiding voltage collapse on transmission and distribution lines

smartelectricnews.com Special : Interview with Jack McCall, Director Business Development - HTS T&D Systems, AMSC Power Systems

American Superconductor Corporation (AMSC) identifies the U.S. power grid market as one of its core growth drivers.

Recently, in its third quarter (ended December 31, 2008) results, AMSC shared that more than $27 million of its $46 million in third-quarter bookings were for its D-VAR Smart Grid solutions. With these new orders, the company now has more than $175 million out of the total of $602 million in backlog that it expects to recognise as revenue in fiscal 2009.

Commenting on plans for this year, Jack McCall, Director Business Development HTS T&D Systems, AMSC Power Systems told smartelectricnews.com: “We are focused on increasing global sales volumes for our D-VAR and SVC reactive compensation solutions. We also will be completing our prototype Secure Super Grids system for Consolidated Edison in 2009.”

McCall spoke in detail about preventing blackouts, AMSC’s Smart Grid D-VAR and Static VAR Compensator (SVC) solutions, and much more. Excerpts:

smartelectricnews.com: With reference to your company's technologies, can you provide an insight into what sort of progress has been made when it comes to preventing blackouts and relieving congestion on existing transmission lines?

Jack McCall: Superconductor power cables offer tremendous power handling capacity combined with very low impedance, making them an ideal solution to addressing grid congestion, particularly in urban areas or where right-of-way is limited. Superconductor cables are also being deployed in NYC in a configuration called Secure Super Grids that allows for a unique method to interconnect substations as a means of increasing grid reliability and preventing blackouts.

On overhead transmission lines, utilities are increasingly looking to install real-time monitoring systems, reconductoring and using other methods of increasing line thermal limits. Often, they find that this is only increasing amperage ratings and any increased power transfer may be limited by overriding voltage stability concerns. AMSC D-VAR and SVC systems provide real-time voltage stability and VAR support necessary to assure that this increased ampacity translates into more power transferred.

smartelectricnews.com: How efficiently are voltage problems being sorted out today?

Jack McCall: Reactive power compensation is necessary to stabilise voltage, relieve power grid congestion, improve electrical efficiency, and prevent blackouts in power grids. AMSC’s Smart Grid D-VAR solutions detect and instantaneously compensate for voltage disturbances by dynamically injecting leading or lagging reactive power into the power grid.

D-VARs are being used in a wide range of applications, including voltage regulation and grid reliability, optimisation of power transfer capacity on stability-limited transmission networks, and reactive power support for wind farm grid interconnection. These solutions allow wind farm developers to meet the dynamic voltage requirements being adopted by countries around the world to protect the grid from the variable voltage levels stemming from wind farms.

AMSC recently announced that National Grid will deploy a large-scale, turnkey D-VAR solution to ensure reliability of the local power grid it manages under an agreement with Long Island Power Authority (LIPA). Including this latest deployment, AMSC has received orders for over 60 STATCOM or Static Compensators power grid solutions worldwide showing these solutions are now coming of age. In total, AMSC’s D-VAR customers include a total of more than 20 electric utilities and 40 wind farms worldwide.

smartelectricnews.com: How does AMSC's SVC provide many benefits at the transmission, distribution and even end-user level?

Jack McCall: AMSC's Static VAR Compensator (SVC) solutions eliminate voltage sags and flicker, giving electric utility companies and manufacturing operations a cost-effective way to safely connect large electrical loads to the local power grid. AMSC’s SVC systems are highly portable, modular and can be field-modified, thereby reducing the costs normally associated with upgrades. They routinely solve problems caused by starting large motors, metal shredders and crushers, sawmills, pump or pipeline stations, shipyards, coal mines, feed plants or kindred processes. These solutions also solve arc furnace flicker problems and are utilized to stabilize power transmission grids.

By using an SVC, electric utilities can eliminate voltage sags and flicker issues caused by such problematic electrical loads without making larger permanent or fixed investments in their power system. SVC solutions offer customer-side benefits as well by providing a more stable voltage supply and a higher power factor to the end user. In many cases, the availability of an SVC will permit an end customer to further expand their facility without impacting other customers located on the same circuit.

smartelectricnews.com: There are devices in the marketplace that can optimise new and existing transmission and distribution lines. What new trends have you witnessed in this arena from AMSC's perspective?

Jack McCall: Our D-VAR and SVC solutions help to optimise existing transmission and distribution assets. Because our solutions eliminate voltage instabilities, power grid operators can oftentimes increase power capacity of their existing T&D assets, providing a very rapid return on investment.

smartelectricnews.com: Can you describe the role of superconductor power cables and AMSC’s Secure Super Grids technology in a smart grid?

Jack McCall: Superconductor power cables and AMSC’s Secure Super Grids technology meet each of the following Smart Grid criteria detailed by the Department of Energy: 1) Accommodate all generation and storage options, 2) Provide power quality for the digital economy, 3) Optimise assets and operate efficiently, 4) Anticipate and respond to system disturbances self-heal, and 5) operate resiliently against attack and natural disasters to resist attack.

AMSC’s Secure Super Grid (SSG) technology is a “system-level” superconductor cable solution that fulfills these criteria, which are vital to enhancing over-taxed and aging power grids in the U.S. and around the world.

AMSC’s SSG technology increases both the capacity of T&D infrastructure and the fault current handling capability of dense urban circuits. This solution utilizes customised superconductor power cables and ancillary controls to deliver up to 10 times more power than conventional copper cables while at the same time suppressing power surges - or fault currents - that can result in critical outages including widespread blackouts. Superconductor cables create resilient, self healing power grids that can survive attacks and natural disasters. HTS cables can increase transmission efficiency and significantly enhance the flow of power under city streets to enable, for instance, widespread adoption of PHEVs. Uniquely, AMSC’s SSG technology also allows for the construction of multiple paths for electricity flow in metropolitan power grids to ensure system redundancy when individual circuits are disrupted due to severe weather, traffic accidents or willful destruction.

High-capacity, very low impedance superconductor power cables generate little to no magnetic field. The very high power capacity and small footprint of superconductor cables makes them much easier to site, particularly in dense, urban areas. As such, the compact size and low environmental impact of HTS cables offers new ways for grid planners and operators to upgrade and increase the capacity of electric distribution networks.

HTS cables have been well demonstrated at electric utilities and are now being deployed in the grid. Over the past two years, three of these cables have been energized in the United States. Stand-alone fault current limiters based on superconducting materials also offer a new vista in grid security and technical control of system operating parameters.

smartelectricnews.com: How can superconductor power cables be utilised to transport renewable energies from remote areas to highly populated urban areas where power is needed?

Jack McCall: We believe superconductor power cables will play a big role in the mission to efficiently transport renewable power to the load center. While much of the long-haul power transmission from large renewable generation sites over the next several years will be accomplished with overhead power lines, as that load approaches cities, it must be carried underground. Superconductor cable technology is able to carry this power more efficiently and in a much smaller space than conventional copper cables. We also believe that direct current (DC) superconductor power cables will eventually play a role in long-haul power transmission.

Reduction in energy usage via connectivity to a customer's house

smartelectricnews.com Special

Development of standards-based smart grid connectivity that offers easy home area networks (HAN) access to utilities deploying Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) solutions continues to pave way for a "greener" environment.

AMI provides energy savings for consumers through management of devices and appliances in the home area network.

As a result, there is energy saving through improved demand management and lower energy costs to consumers.

The industry has already witnessed developments related to broadband smart meter HAN interface, coupled with ultra low-power chips that leverage the widely-deployed Wi-Fi infrastructure, enabling programmable, connected devices such as thermostats and smart appliances to optimise the control, delivery, and usage of power.

Home energy monitoring

The industry has been working on shaping up new software for home energy monitoring products, designed to provide consumers with a more detailed information on the energy they use.

Via such systems, customers are offered energy bills with a comprehensive information. It is hoped that providing customers with more details about the appliances and times of day that use the most energy will encourage them to think more about curbing energy use.

New manufacturing techniques can produce devices – including a microprocessor, a unique Internet address, a controller, and simple network communications – at a very low cost per control point, so these devices can be embedded into electrical appliances and lighting ballasts.

Sharing his viewpiont, Dr. Maher Chebbo, Vice President Utilities for Europe ,Middle East and Africa (EMEA), SAP AG , who is scheduled to speak during Intelligent Demand Response for Electricity Summit 2009, to be held in Amsterdam on 28-29 January 2009, says Chips applicances have been produced by different labs like Northwest National Lab.

For instance, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory found that providing homeowners with smart appliances and information on how to save money cut their energy costs but also reduced overall power consumption during peak use periods.

"(Such initiatives) help in sending real-time information about the energy consumption of each electrical appliance at home and also to help self programming in terms of turn-on, turn-off when energy if more expensive and at peak times," said Dr. Chebbo.

As per the information available, appliances outfitted with computer chips are able to sense when the transmission system was stressed and partially turned themselves off to save critical kilowatts — potentially staving off catastrophe.

In terms of reach news of efficiency in communication, there are several new ways of looking at it. For instance, there are initiatives related to an existing software that allows consumers to see which appliances are most power hungry getting integrated into the data warehouse. If a customer's bill is high one month, instead of sending engineers to check the meter, the databases allow energy firms to know if the household has just added a new energy-intensive appliance. It would also allow utilities to notify customers if thier energy use is higher than usual, potentially heading off a particularly hefty bill. Conversely, the system would also be able to notify the energy company if the meter reading looked wrong, saving the customer and energy company time and money.

Commenting on selection of local devices and control systems online to create virtual control center without enterprise software, systems, or device-level integration, and how should they help in administering demand response (DR) programmes and manage energy consumption, Dr. Chebbo referred to integration of the virtual control center and enterprise software through an automated metering infrastructure.

"The smart meters should be the link between the HAN and the enterprise software. All the intelligence about the customers and their behaviour (in terms of consumption profiles) is in the enterprise software taking care of customer information system and assets management," said Dr. Chebbo.

Other than such software, going by the developments in the industry, it is clear that the focus is also coming up with in-home energy displays and smart meter solutions that enable utilities to put the end user in control.

And in terms of the exterior of such products, the onus is on companies to produce attractive products. And at the same time also add real value to this information by providing an intuitive web service that puts raw data into a usable context.

Bright future ahead of smart grid technology

In its global predictions for technology industry, Deloitte has stated that smart grid solutions providers enjoyed 50 percent revenue growth in 2008 and may generate $25 billion in revenues in 2009.

Although the global economy may make public spending on smart grid unlikely, governments may choose to offer tax incentives as well as consider how smart grid technology can reduce non-domestic energy dependence and help make the grid more secure.

According to Deloitte, to conserve costs, profit-oriented utilities and enterprises may deploy smart grid technologies even without government support.

Also, major manufacturers and utilities may even want to explore partnerships with or acquisition of smart energy companies.

"Smart grid technology will represent the biggest and fastest growing sector in green tech," said Eric Openshaw, vice chairman and U.S. technology leader for Deloitte LLP.
"The most significant emerging technologies will be those that deliver cost-efficiency, contribute to environmental sustainability and drive new forms of personal and business collaboration."

AMSC announces Turnkey D-VAR® order for long island power grid

- Long Island Power Authority Adopts Solution to Ensure Continued Grid Reliability During Periods of Peak Electricity Demand
- AMSC to Provide D-VAR Reactive Compensation Systems, Ancillary Hardware, Installation Services and Ongoing Maintenance

DEVENS, MA – January 27, 2009 – American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC), a leading energy technologies company, announced today that it has received an order for a large-scale dynamic reactive compensation solution from National Grid (LSE: NG) (NYSE: NGG), one of the world’s largest investor-owned energy companies, which manages the electricity network on Long Island under an agreement with Long Island Power Authority (LIPA). AMSC will install its proprietary D-VAR STATCOM solution on eastern Long Island to ensure the continued reliability of the local power grid. Reactive power compensation is necessary to stabilize voltage, relieve power grid congestion, improve electrical efficiency, and prevent blackouts in power grids.

“Long Island Power Authority is supplying more power to its residential and commercial customers each year,” said Long Island Power Authority President and Chief Executive Officer Kevin S. Law. “In order to continue providing reliable, high quality power, we needed a solution to stabilize voltage during times of peak demand, particularly over the summer months when Long Island’s population is at its highest.”

D-VAR dynamic reactive compensation systems are classified as Static Compensators, or “STATCOMs,” a member of the FACTS (Flexible AC-Transmission System) family of power electronic solutions for alternating current (AC) power grids. These Smart Grid solutions are able to detect and instantaneously compensate for voltage disturbances by dynamically injecting leading or lagging reactive power into the power grid. AMSC has received orders for over 60 STATCOM power grid solutions worldwide, more than all other manufacturers. The company’s D-VAR STATCOM customers include more than 20 electric utilities and 40 wind farms.

The total dynamic range of reactive compensation provided by this transmission grid solution will be -96 to +240 mega-volt-amperes reactive (MVAR). AMSC will provide a full turnkey solution, including installation and ongoing maintenance and support for LIPA. The contract calls for commissioning of the reactive compensation solution by mid 2010. It will include a 36 MVAR base-rated D-VAR STATCOM – one of the largest STATCOM’s ever deployed in North America – seamlessly integrated with capacitor banks.

This is the second D-VAR solution AMSC has sold for LIPA’s power grid. In addition, in April 2008, AMSC commissioned the world’s first high temperature superconductor (HTS) power transmission cable system in LIPA’s commercial power grid. The 138,000 volt (138 kV) power cable system is successfully operating in LIPA’s Holbrook transmission right of way. It contains hair-thin HTS wires that conduct 150 times the electricity of similar sized copper wires, enabling the cable system to utilize far less wire and yet conduct up to five times more power – in a smaller right of way – than traditional copper-based cables.

“LIPA has one of the most reliable power grids in the U.S.,” said AMSC founder and Chief Executive Officer Greg Yurek. “By deploying this D-VAR STATCOM solution, LIPA will continue its tradition of utilizing the latest technologies to meet and exceed its customers’ demands for reliable, digital-grade power.”

AMSC’s D-VAR systems are modular and scalable solutions that can be customized to meet specific customer needs. These Smart Grid solutions are being utilized in a wide range of applications, including voltage regulation and grid reliability, optimization of power transfer capacity on stability-limited transmission networks, and reactive power support for wind farm interconnection to the grid. To learn more about AMSC’s D-VAR solutions for the power grid, please visit: http://www.amsc.com/products/transmissiongrid/reactive-power-AC-transmission.html

About LIPALIPA, a non-profit municipal electric provider, owns the retail electric Transmission and Distribution System on Long Island and provides electric service to more than 1.1 million customers in Nassau and Suffolk counties and the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens. LIPA is the 2nd largest municipal electric utility in the nation in terms of electric revenues, 3rd largest in terms of customers served and the 7th largest in terms of electricity delivered. In 2006, LIPA outperformed all other overhead electric utilities in New York State in all three major reliability categories. LIPA does not provide natural gas service or own any on-island generating assets. More information about LIPA can be found online at: http://www.lipower.org.

About American Superconductor (NASDAQ: AMSC)
AMSC offers an array of proprietary technologies and solutions spanning the electric power infrastructure – from generation to delivery to end use. The company is a leader in alternative energy, providing proven, megawatt-scale wind turbine designs and electrical control systems. The company also offers a host of Smart Grid technologies for power grid operators that enhance the reliability, efficiency and capacity of the grid, and seamlessly integrate renewable energy sources into the power infrastructure. These include superconductor power cable systems, grid-level surge protectors and power electronics-based voltage stabilization systems. AMSC’s technologies are protected by a broad and deep intellectual property portfolio consisting of hundreds of patents and licenses worldwide. More information is available at www.amsc.com.

Assessing the role of devices in empowering customers to control their energy costs

smartelectricnews.com Special

Recently, in an interview with smartelectricnews.com, Petri Trygg, Researcher, Institute of Power Engineering, Tampere University of Technology had spoken about consumers' interest level as far as electricity is concerned.

"In general, consumer´s attitude towards electricity must be quite uninterested one," Trygg, who is scheduled to speak during Intelligent Demand Response for Electricity Summit 2009, to be held in Amsterdam on 28-29 January 2009, had said.

In order to ensure optimal results from a demand response programme, experts advocate that timely information is critical to making demand response decisions.

It is said that consistent information develops habits for consumers that can greatly affect energy use and price responsiveness. Accurate, real-time data allows consumers and energy managers to control their energy consumption more precisely, producing increased energy efficiency and savings.

Plus, feedback helps customers understand the cause-effect link of behaviour and energy consumption, and time between action and consequence or resulting energy use and cost is very important to ensure maximum savings.

Precise communication, be it for informing consumers about their usage patterns or eliciting response from them, has several benefits.

It is believed that faster feedback results in savings upto 10 percent, conveying price information lets customers know when to conserve or shift use, and use and cost displays show alerts for events and results in customer decision result in real-time.


Advancements in communication devices

Over the years, the industry has seen Advanced Metering Infrastructure or AMI ready display devices that allow consumers to closely track their electricity consumption and receive messages or alerts from their utility provider.

There are LCD displays that show messages that are clear and intuitive, making it easy for consumers to manage their energy usage and costs in real-time and wireless communication allows for use anywhere in the home.

According to Comverge, Inc., research has shown consumer energy savings of up to 15 percent can be realised with the use of devices that allows the end user access to real-time energy usage data.

For its part, in October last year, Comverge expanded its AMI compatible product portfolio with the introduction of the PowerPortal Home, in-home display (IHD), that provides customers with current energy usage, energy price information and utility messaging. PowerPortal Home weighs less than 5 ounces, has a battery life of up to 2 months, and is one of the most portable IHD devices available.

As an AMI ready display, PowerPortal Home shows messages that making it easy for consumers to manage their energy usage and costs in real-time. Designed for ZigBee, the PowerPortal Home utilises the smart energy wireless profile, which allows for broad compatibility with many AMI systems and use anywhere in the home. PowerPortal Home has a magnetic backing, an integrated base and a rechargeable battery, so it can be placed on a table, countertop, or even on the front of a refrigerator.

The industry is also witnessing steady advancements in devices, which serve as a wireless communications portal between utility companies and their customers.

For instance, in the first week of January, LS Research shared that it has teamed with Ember to develop Rate$aver. The focus is on homeowners and utilities to collaborate on conserving energy and reducing costs. The emphasis is on offering reliable, wireless communication of consumption data from the utility meter into the home.

Rate$aver is being described as the first battery-powered, wireless graphical display employing the ZigBee Smart Energy public application profile, which supports pricing, security, simple metering and messaging clusters, and is interoperable with other ZigBee Smart Energy certified products including electric smart meters.

Rate$aver runs for up to two years on two AA batteries and uses a unique display technology that allows the display to remain visible even after the radio and the power are turned off. The Rate$aver provides an advanced radio architecture and a 100mW power amplifier that eliminates the need for repeater devices in most homes. Rate$aver also employs Ember's bootloader capability enabling easy implementation of software updates.


Intelligent Demand Response for Electricity Summit 2009

Intelligent Demand Response for Electricity Summit 2009 is scheduled to take place in Amsterdam on 28-29 January 2009.

For more information, click here: www.smartelectricnews.com/demand08

Or

Contact:
Abbie Badcock ,
Smart Electric News,
abbie@smartelectricnews.com
T: +44 (0)207 375 7581

ECS secures 30 MW target for a DR programme

Energy Curtailment Specialists (ECS) has shared that in only one summer season it successfully delivered a demand response portfolio, representing more than 30 MW of on-call load reduction, to KCP&L.

Approximately 350 commercial customers were recruited by ECS to take part in the MPower programme which is designed to provide grid stability and manageable energy prices while offering an incentive to businesses for conservation. This portfolio was called upon and delivered essential load reduction four times during the 2008 season, which runs from June through September.

According to Paul Tyno, executive vice president program development for ECS, the most successful demand response programmes are the ones that effectively bridge the needs of the utility with the realities of the customer.

"While it's important to enroll megawatts in a DR portfolio, it's far more important that those megawatts are reliable and acquired in a fashion that preserves and enhances the utility's long standing customer relationships," said Tyno.

ECS will get down in the trenches with customers to understand their business and in turn help them understand and better manage their energy use.

KCP&L utilises a demand response curriculum to assist in managing summer peak electric demand. These DR programmes are a vital component of their Comprehensive Energy Plan, the company's long-term action plan for providing sustainable, environmentally responsible energy to the region.

"Demand response is clearly the 'killer application' for the smart grid"

Demand response and advanced metering programmes have made significant progress in serving more consumers across the country, according to a new report released by Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

The report, 2008 Assessment of Demand Response and Advanced Metering, while notes progress on overcoming regulatory and financial hurdles over the past three years, also points to continuing obstacles – the limited number of retail customers on time-based rates, restrictions on customer access to meter data and the scale of financial investment necessary to deploy enabling technologies during an economic downturn – that could limit opportunities for continued growth in these programmes.

According to FERC Commissioner Jon Wellinghoff, who leads the Commission's efforts in the Collaborative Dialogue on DR with the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, DR is clearly the 'killer application' for the smart grid.

"With our FERC report gauging progress and identifying continuing barriers to demand response, we can effectively assess our progress in deploying essential smart grid technologies," said Wellinghoff.

The report's conclusions are based on a survey that shows the ratio of advanced meters to all installed meters has reached 4.7 percent for the US, a significant jump from the less than one percent in 2006. The report is FERC's third annual report on DR issues.

On the demand response side, eight percent of energy consumers in the US are in some kind of DR programme and the potential DR resource contribution from all such US programmes is close to 41,000 megawatts, or 5.8 percent, of US peak demand. This represents an increase of about 3,400 MW from the 2006 estimate. The largest DR resource contributions are from the Mid-Atlantic, Midwestern and Southeastern regions of the US. The report also notes that in the past year, Colorado, Maryland, Ohio and other states promoted DR through utility regulation legislation. Alabama and California led states in approving time-based rates for consumers. And multi-state groups from the Mid-Atlantic to the Pacific Northwest are coordinating across jurisdictions to enhance DR through research, education and planning.

"Consumers must be motivated for DR"

smartelectricnews.com Special - Interview with Petri Trygg, Researcher, Institute of Power Engineering, Tampere University of Technology

Specialists recommend a thorough study or an insight into customers' requirements and behaviour before involving them for DR programmes right from the pilot/ test phase for any project.

Be it for what customers care about and what their "need drives" are (is it the environment-related or financial savings or social responsibility); a lot of introspection is required before one factors these into a communication and implementation strategy and starts reaching out to the customers. There are initiatives or rather new precedents taking place in a market like the US where the electric utility industry is testing the response of residential customers to different innovative pricing options under one programme to test an advanced metering technology. The consumer is checking out pricing options that could assist them in curbing their monthly bills by better controlling their power consumption.

Assessing such approaches, Petri Trygg, Researcher, Institute of Power Engineering, Tampere University of Technology, says, "I think it heavily depends on the issue [being] studied. In general, consumer´s attitude towards electricity must be quite uninterested [one]."

Trygg, who is also MD of PowerQ Oy, Finland, a company specialising in metering information analysis e.g. power quality monitoring and web-applications, pointed out that in Finland, price difference of electricity between different companies is few hundred Euros.

"In DR, potential of savings must be quite high to really boost usage of it in real life situations compared to simulations," said Trygg, who is scheduled to speak during Intelligent Demand Response for Electricity Summit 2009, to be held in Amsterdam on 28-29 January 2009.

Through pilot programmes, companies or utilities are looking to get an insight into how consumers react to pricing information. They also want to learn whether consumers alter their usage habits, potentially resulting in lower energy costs, achieving energy efficiency gains and a reduction in the amount of kilowatts.

But Trygg categorically says before all this consumers should be informed first about the test and recommends communicating with them on a regular basis. "Like in medicine development using placebos for comparison group. Then comparing the different situations. Alternative with different compensation levels," Trygg told smartelectricnews.com.

On how the government/ state authorities and other organisations can get an insight into how consumers react to pricing information or any initiative, Jessica Stromback of VaasaETT Global Energy Think Tank recently told smartelectricnews.com: "Well, the very best way of course is to try them - and like the Canadians try a variety of possibilities so that you can build on previous knowledge and create real comparisons. You not only learn about how your customers' would react but also what such measures would really require in reality from your utilities, regulators, grid operators… If you don't have the budget for a pilot study - ask them."

It is also critical to remember that most consumers know almost nothing about the industry and they may not understand the ramifications of their answers. As Jessica says, for example, most customers that are asked if they would like to have "accurate billing" rather than the widely used estimated bills, say yes – until they are informed that their winter electricity bills may double. Therefore, the questionnaires must be carefully designed.
"A third method, which should not be forgotten and is always an important first step - is to review the excellent pilot studies that have already been done all over the world," says Jessica.

On the same, Trygg said, emphasis should be given to price difference for electricity versus amount of changes.

"Consumer must be motivated for DR. And for finding out the motivating compensation study of the electricity sales price differences versus the rate of consumer changing the sales company should be done locally in the markets DR is designed," said Trygg.

On inducing a change in consumers' usage habits, Trygg said the approach would depend upon the market.

"In Finland, the main factor is the compensation to the consumer. Also knowledge that high demand situations require more polluting energy production may influence some of the customers. So by reducing peak loads only polluting production is limited and renewable is kept going. Cheaper "green" tariffs are also key to success. Currently, they are more expensive and this is not motivating consumers."

With reference to a "smart meter" getting installed at each participant's residence (for a pilot study) to measure electricity use at hourly intervals and transmit usage data each day through a wireless communications network, Trygg says in any case AMR is the solution also for DR.

"But alternative and independent models also exist. In critical network situations, frequency based DR is also new possibility. Customer behaviour is dependent on price differences also. Also, predictability of prices in each hour is key in changing the load profiles," said Trygg.

Intelligent Demand Response for Electricity Summit 2009

Petri Trygg, Researcher, Institute of Power Engineering, Tampere University of Technology is scheduled to speak during Intelligent Demand Response for Electricity Summit 2009, to be held in Amsterdam on 28-29 January 2009.

For more information, click here: www.smartelectricnews.com/demand08

Or

Contact:
Abbie Badcock ,
Smart Electric News,
abbie@smartelectricnews.com
T: +44 (0)207 375 7581
==

"It is worth investing in DR resources if its cheaper than the alternative resources"

Interview with Ulrik Stridbaek, Chief Economist, Regulatory affairs at DONG Energy

smartelectricnews.com Special

During the hottest days or any other period of maximum demand, demand can rise to a level where even if generating capacity is available, the delivery infrastructure or the grid may be pushed to the point of failure. According to experts, demand response (DR) can be used at such times to reduce spikes and increase grid reliability.

This type of DR usually involves end users on `standby' able to be dispatched - often times automatically - by grid operators or utilities when demand is spiking and grid equipment failures are possible.

Apart from increasing grid reliability, another option would be to reduce short-term price volatility.

Depending on the configuration of generation capacity, DR may be used to increase demand (load) at times of high production and low demand. Some systems may thereby encourage energy storage to arbitrage between periods of low and high demand (or low and high prices).

As the proportion of intermittent power sources such as wind power in a system grows, demand response may become increasingly important to effective management of the electric grid.

According to Ulrik Stridbaek, Chief Economist, Regulatory affairs at DONG Energy, greater volatility in supply from variable resources such as wind power will create greater value in shifting demand from hours with a high price to hours with a low price.

"So if power is priced correctly the incentives for customers to respond will increase with the expansion of e.g. wind power. If incentives are sufficient to trigger DR, this can contribute balancing the system. Otherwise other sources of flexibility will have to be found. New intelligent generation and demand such as micro generation and electric cars can help creating the framework where demand becomes more responsive, by triggering the necessary investments for intelligent demand," says Stridbaek, who is scheduled to speak during Intelligent Demand Response for Electricity Summit 2009, to be held in Amsterdam on 28-29 January 2009.

Stridbaek also spoke about few other issues in an interview with smartelectricnews.com. Excerpts:

smartelectricnews.com: What according to you is the appropriate way to merge pre-existing energy infrastructure to intelligent ICT, Smart grids and Virtual Power plants?

Ulrik Stridbaek: Investments in the grid, including smart grids, will probably require regulatory incentives. When necessary regulated infrastructure is in place, there must be proper incentives to make use of the infrastructure (e.g. for VPPs) and integrate traditional and new types of resources.

The best way to create these incentives is through well designed markets, competition and market forces.

smartelectricnews.com: How should companies go about planning and executing DR and DSM programmes and also partnering with specialists for the same?

Ulrik Stridbaek: It is worth investing in DR resources if this is cheaper than the alternative resources. So first step must be to have a good feel for the cost and value of marginal resources in any given system. Next step is to have knowledge about the cost of DR.

This also requires close relationships with customers. Partnerships with consultants, aggregators and vendors comes after that, and must depend on the specific circumstances.

smartelectricnews.com: How can DSM play an important role in helping balance supply and demand in any energy market as well as help reduce price volatility and increase system reliability and security?

Ulrik Stridbaek: DR is a resource to be compared with other alternative resources to balance power supply and maintain reliability. DR can help reduce prices and volatility but volatility is also what gives incentives for DR in the first place.

smartelectricnews.com: When it comes to installation, maintenance and data management of such programmes, what factors do you think need to be taken into consideration for enablement cost where one-time cost includes equipment installation and administration and annual maintenance cost?

Ulrik Stridbaek: This is complex. One point for consideration is that a lot of potential DR resources requires up front investment, but once these have been incurred and demand has been automated, the cost of responding may be low. So once the investment has been incurred it is highly competitive with other alternative resources, such as generation from peakers.

smartelectricnews.com: It is said that Automated Demand Response (Auto-DR) programme costs are less than half the cost of peak generation resources. How do you assess developments related to Auto-DR platform designed to automated, electronic price and reliability signals as well as site-specific demand response strategies?

Ulrik Stridbaek: This is under development but probably focused on specific sectors and applications, rather than in a broad roll-out. Initial target sectors could be electric cars and specific appliances.

Intelligent Demand Response for Electricity Summit 2009

Ulrik Stridbaek is scheduled to speak during Intelligent Demand Response for Electricity Summit 2009, to be held in Amsterdam on 28-29 January 2009.

For more information, click here: www.smartelectricnews.com/demand08

Or

Contact:
Abbie Badcock ,
Smart Electric News,
abbie@smartelectricnews.com
T: +44 (0)207 375 7581

Silver Spring reportedly on a contract signing spree

Silver Spring Networks, a firm which recently received $75 million investment for its global expansion, is reportedly finalising contracts "worth hundreds of millions of dollars to outfit three large, yet-unnamed electric utilities with smart grid technology in deal".

The multi-year deals include wirelessly networking more than three million electric meters for the utilities.

The agreements are expected to be finalised in December and would be worth more than $300 million, Silver Spring executives told Red Herring.

"The Silver Spring agreements, which are with two investor-owned utilities in the United States and one abroad, would cap a big year for the Kleiner Perkins-backed company," as per the report.

It was Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers's Green Growth Fund, which had led a $75 million investment round into Silver Spring Networks in October. The company provides its Smart Grid technology, systems, and services to customers including: Florida Power & Light Company, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Modesto Irrigation District, Oklahoma Gas & Electric, Consumers Energy, and others.

Chief executive Scott Lang said Silver Spring has already inked multi-year contracts worth $500 million, and he expects that value to reach $1 billion within 12 months. He said the company would be profitable by next year, pulling in revenue exceeding $75 million.

Itron joins interoperability programme

eMeter has shared that Itron, a provider of AMI solutions, has joined its IntegratedMDM SM Programme.

The purpose of eMeter's IntegratedMDM Program is to foster closer cooperation and interoperability between eMeters EnergyIP and AMI technologies.

Larsh Johnson, CTO, eMeter said with the capabilities of AMI systems evolving so rapidly, this programme is designed to provide utilities with assurance that if they select a participating AMI technology, the technology will operate with the EnergyIP MDMS now and in the future.

Under the programme, each of the AMI companies independently agreed to cooperate in the integration of their AMI technology with the EnergyIP software.

The eMeter IntegratedMDM program consists of the following elements:

· Interoperability. Enabling eMeter's MDM to interoperate with the participating AMI technologies.
· Independence of MDM and AMI Systems. Creating open, independent MDM that allows utilities to select from the participant's offerings now and in the future.
· Integration Planning. On-going development cooperation and release planning between eMeter and the AMI companies covering existing and future functionality.

Itron joins Iskrameco, Silverspring Networks, Current Technologies, EDMI, Eka Systems, Elster, Landis+Gyr, Sensus and Trilliant as the newest member of the IntegratedMDM programme.

ECE goes for a Smart Grid-ready communications system

East Central Energy (ECE) is deploying a Smart Grid-ready communications system linking 36 substations with a 700 MHz licenced wireless broadband communication network from Arcadian Networks made possible through a partnership with the cooperative's wholesale power supplier, Great River Energy of Maple Grove.

ECE, which is a member-owned electric cooperative that serves more than 57,000 homes, farms and businesses in east central Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin, has now completed installation of Arcadian at 32 of 36 substations and expects to complete the roll out by the end of the year.

Commenting on the previous arrangement, Linda LaTourelle, the IT Manager overseeing the transition to the Arcadian solution, said with nearly 70,000 PLC equipped meters reporting through substation data concentrators, communications with remote locations was challenging.

Considering that the older dial-up communications were maintenance intensive and needed to support an expensive frame relay network to get information back to headquarters in Braham, Minnesota, with some remote substations simply could not be reached by dial-up (and this required to patch together a non- broadband, mismatched solution), ECE saw the need to upgrade to a unified and modern communications platform to support its plans for additional smart grid applications in the future.

"We liked the idea of a private network and had considered putting in our own wireless system," said LaTourelle. "When we studied the capabilities of the Arcadian system, we saw that it brought the security, privacy, and reliability we wanted along with a strong ongoing return on our investment."

"We are already benefiting from the broadband accessibility to our substation communications throughout the entire territory, and the team is talking about the Smart Grid potential of the network."

IBM and EDF embark on an energy sustainability project

IBM has signed a collaboration with EDF to jointly develop high performance computing solutions which can significantly advance the operation and optimisation of the complex systems and processes involved in electricity production and power management.

The two companies will also work on a project to explore key aspects of the energy systems that are important in EDF operations, in an effort to further energy sustainability.

Acknowledging the significance of extensive collaboration between the scientific and business communities, and new approaches in technology, John E. Kelly III, senior vice president and director of IBM Research said this ambitious initiative will explore how to apply technologies with new intelligence to seek significant improvements in energy efficiency and alternative energy.

Together, the companies will develop and validate sophisticated computational solutions to model a number of complex processes critical to EDF activities. EDF expects that this common initiative will increase its ability to further advance the efficiency of its power plants.

IBM expects that its work with EDF will help advance IBM's systems, software, middleware and applications capabilities in its Power Generation, Intelligent Utility Network and Advanced Water Management solutions, as well as many other industrial, environmental and research activities and lead to improved computer systems and applications designs in the future.

For its part, EDF has been investing in research and numerical simulation to support efficient and sustainable use of power production. Its R&D teams have developed a set of highly validated numerical codes and simulation platforms that play a key role in optimising plant operation.