The Smart Grid Transportation Utility

Every one should agree that "It is clear that dramatic change is coming in the future for the electric utility industry and the way energy is generated, delivered and consumed substantially changing the whole business model. This change is coming to a piece of the industry that hasn't been known for radical change over its 120 plus year history... Implementation of the Smart Grid will require a complete rethinking of the utility business model and business processes."
Such dramatic and radical change is leading to an emergent smart grid transportation utility to replace today's utilities, with customer oriented front office and back office activity done today by the enterprise side of the utility and power generation front office and back office activity becoming competitive activities at the federal level.

A complete rethinking of the industry structure has already been done during the past two years in the Energy Central Network and what has emerged is the Electricity Without Price Controls (EWPC) market architecture and paradigm shift. As a result there is a grand vision as can be seen in the EWPC article Value Creation for the Customers to shift from the "compliance-based industry in which utilities operate," to one that "offer enough incentive for consumers, [generators and retailers] to take the difficult steps necessary to make electrical energy markets operate efficiently."

In sum, the utility as we know it evolves as the smart grid becomes the transportation utility under central planning. Shifting from price controls to prudential regulation, generation and customer facing front and back office activities will become free market activities as can be seen in the EWPC article Free Market and Central Planning, Under R1E2. R1E2 is the policy system reliability first, economy second, that gives priority to "real-time/near real-time" generation, transportation and demand power system smart grid activities with respect to economic free market activities.

Source: Jose Antonio Vanderhorst-Silverio

Smart Meters in UK could cost £20bn

Tim Webb in The Observer (Sunday March 16, 2008) wrote that the implementation of Smart Meters on every home in the UK could costs as much as £20bn discussed how this may be passed onto the consumer. Click here to see the full article on The Observer website.

Click here for Source - The Observer

Gazprom Marketing & Trading buys into Smart Metering

Gazprom Marketing & Trading - the UK-based subsidiary of the World's biggest natural gas company - announced that it has taken an equity stake in a leading automated meter reading supplier.

The company, TruRead, provides a series of creative technologies and solutions which enable meters for gas, electricity, water and other commodities to be read remotely and data transferred without human intervention.

This remote data allows consumers to measure energy use in near real time which enables them to better manage their energy consumption and carbon footprint, 'Smart metering is the technology of the future,' said Vitaly Vasiliev, CEO of Gazprom Marketing & Trading.
'With rising public and regulatory concern about the need to reduce carbon emissions, this proprietary technology will enable multi-commodity consumers to be more energy efficient and to control their energy use more easily and cost-effectively,' said Vasiliev. 'TruRead will be able to give its customers an even better service, while offering new, added value products, like low cost AMR solutions. This is in line with our goal to be a leader of diversified energy services.'
Simon Slater, Managing Director of TruRead, said: 'Today is a momentous occasion for TruRead, it gives us the green light to develop our products and services further, both in the UK and globally'. 'We believe our new product range to be a unique service, which we can quickly begin to market to our customers', Slater added TruRead provides a managed data service through Automated Meter Reading (AMR) and offers a complete, integrated set of services, for end-to-end collection and delivery of meter reading, for electricity, gas and water, using cutting-edge technology at a competitive price. The service starts with the installation of the meter or data-logger and ends with accurate, timely reads, along with an ad-hoc data retrieval service.
TruRead can provide a wide range of delivered data, ranging from simple and accurate billing reads, through to daily or half-hourly consumption data. 'Smart meters' scheme for UK could cost up to £20bn.

Source: TruRead

ZigBee makes electric outlets smart

Energy Optimizers Limited (EOL) has developed a ZigBee-based plug-in electricity meter that can help companies and households shave hundreds to thousands of dollars off their electricity bills. The U.K. company's device, called the plogg, allows home- and building-owners to monitor how much electricity is being used by individual appliances and electronic devices so that energy efficiency can be improved.

Recent studies by the British government and the Carbon Trust show that people can save five to 15 percent of the electricity they use by using smart meters to manage energy demands.
The plogg is a combined smart meter plug and data logger, based on Ember's ZigBee wireless technology running on a Telegesis module. It can be attached to any electrical appliance or device that uses a standard UK 13 Amp or European 16 Amp plug. A plogg for the North American market is currently under evaluation.

The plogg stores the measured electricity data and wirelessly communicates this information to a PC, mobile phone or building management system anywhere in the world through an Internet-linked Ethernet gateway. For instance, a restaurant chain could use ploggs to monitor energy use by refrigeration and air conditioning units, with all the information collected at a central point via the Internet. Upon discovering that some air conditioners were left on after business hours, the plogg would allow them to switch off air conditioning units by remote activation, or alert a manager that a unit needs servicing. The plogg meters can support a range of other wireless-based energy saving devices as well, such as temperature and light level sensors.

Using Ember's EM250 ZigBee "system-on-chip" transceiver and EmberZNet PRO wireless mesh networking software running on a Telegesis module, a network of ploggs can self organize to provide robust coverage of the home or building. The plogg can act as an end device, a router or ZigBee coordinator. It is available as a stand-alone end-user device, or part of an energy reporting network, or as an embeddable device for OEM products.

In addition to measuring power consumption, a real-time clock function allows time-of-usemetering information for multi-rate applications. Data logging can be set from one minute to one month. The meter samples voltage and current signals 50 times per AC cycle, at a sampling rate of 2520 Hz.

"Telegesis embedded devices provided us with a straightforward, cost effective and importantly, a quick route to market," said Shaun Merrick, general manager at EOL. "With the release from Ember of EmberZNet PRO 3.1, we now have the means to deliver micro building management systems, incorporating compatible energy controls such as light, presence and temperature sensors."

The EM250 is an 802.15.4/ZigBee compliant semiconductor system that integrates a programmable microprocessor, RF radio, network protocol stack and memory into a tiny, singlechip solution (7mm on a side). It offers EOL dramatic reductions in component size, cost and power consumption, and increased range due to its very high sensitivity. The EM250 runs EmberZNet PRO 3.1, Ember's enhanced ZigBee PRO compliant networking stack.
The ZigBee Alliance is an association of companies working together to enable reliable, costeffective, low-power, wirelessly networked monitoring and control products based on an open global standard. The ZigBee Alliance is a rapidly growing, non-profit industry consortium of leading semiconductor manufacturers, technology providers, OEMs, and end-users worldwide.
Membership is open to all.

Additional information can be found at http://www.zigbee.org/.

Source: http://www.zigbee.org/

ICT: the know-how to make the cut

Information technology is playing an ever greater role in helping us reduce carbon emissions, writes Emily Farnworth. Of all the industry sectors, information and communication technology (ICT) is emerging as one of the strongest candidates to lead the fight against climate change. On first glance this may not be apparent - IT consultancy Gartner estimates the sector currently accounts for nearly 2 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, - with data centres alone accounting for 23 per cent of this figure.

However, it is worth looking deeper into the story to understand the real impact the sector is having. And we are not just talking about video conferencing.More power, less painWith our hunger for information and global connectivity showing no sign of being satiated, it is easy to imagine a world where energy is drained by the proliferation of gadgets and gismos, products and services.

Thankfully the exponential growth in communications and information transfer around the world is not matched by an exponential growth in carbon emissions. While the processing power of PCs doubles every couple of years, their energy use does not, owing to improvements in efficiency.

Furthermore, many producers of ICT equipment have teamed up under the Climate Savers Computing Initiative to achieve a 50 per cent reduction in power consumption by computers in 2010. Beyond PCs, the growing trend of virtualising data centres can result in up to 70 per cent to 80 per cent reductions in space, power and cooling. And some data centres, such as Google's, are being built near renewable energy supplies and in cooler climes to take advantage of cheaper, cleaner power and natural air cooling.

Energy and enterprise

Not only is ICT becoming more energy efficient, it is supporting increased productivity in the economy. In both Europe and the US, the growth of the internet and ICTs more widely has coincided with a decoupling of energy use from GDP growth, and recent studies have aimed to prove that it is growth in ICT that is causing this trend.

A 2008 study by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy has gone as far as to claim that ICT is driving system changes in the US economy such that for every extra kilowatt-hour that has been demanded by ICT, the US economy has increased its overall energy savings by a factor of about 10 - mainly achieved through making business activities more efficient.Transferring ICT solutions into new places lies at the heart of the sector's potential to fight climate change. A study by the AeA (formerly the American Electronics Association) in 2007 suggested that ICT has a significant role to play in delivering Europe's targets for a 20 per cent reduction in energy consumption by 2020. These figures point to an exciting role for ICT to unlock carbon emissions reductions from other sectors and business activities.

Smart solutions

Smart meters - made by multinationals like ABB to boutique start-ups like DIY Kyoto - provide the ability to better manage energy in homes, offices and factories. 'Smart grid' systems are being developed by companies like Itron that integrate smart metering, demand response, storage and distribution to enhance reliability of the grid and pave the way for increasing the share of intermittent power sources from renewables.

Software that accurately maps forests is being used by ImageTree, a company that uses remote sensing imagery software to provide accurate forest inventories and facilitate better forestry management, a crucial tool given that deforestation accounts for 20 per cent of global carbon emissions. Not forgetting the benefits of telecommunication, a 2006 study commissioned by the European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association and WWF, entitled

Saving the Climate @ the Speed of Light, suggested that through a combination of virtual meetings, e-materialisation and flexible working, Europe could save more than 50 million tonnes of CO2 each year.Using information and communication technologies to measure and manage energy is likely to facilitate greater emission reductions across industry sectors. ICT has a lot to bring to the table, both in terms of deep emissions cuts and economic prosperity. It is something that until now has been largely overlooked and unexplored and requires a shift in our thinking to realise the benefits. We have the tools and the capability at our finger tips - what we need is to get smart about using them.

Emily Farnworth is director of The Climate Group. It is partnering with the Global eSustainability Initiative (GeSI) on the first global study on the role of ICT in climate change with the aim of understanding both the direct and indirect carbon impacts of the sector, and assessing the opportunitiest. The project will report in June. For more information, go to www.theclimategroup.org/ict

Source; http://www.climatechangecorp.com/

Major U.S. Mid-Atlantic Utility Selects BPL Global’s Serveron to Supply On-Line Transfomer Monitors

BPL Global announced today it was selected by a major U.S. mid-Atlantic region investor-owned utility through its Serveron subsidiary to be its exclusive supplier of on-line monitors for this power company's fleet of power transformers.

Under terms of the multi-year contract, Serveron has already shipped the first instalment of 30 monitors, with a value for the initial order of more than $1 million. Serveron, a BPL Global Company, is a leading provider of smart grid technology that enables electric utilities to improve reliability, reduce maintenance costs and optimize capital expenditures for power transformers, the largest asset class in the electric grid.

Dermot O'Leary, Serveron's vice president and general manager, said: "The selection of our on-line transformer monitoring technology and expertise shows that this major utility's operating management is in tune with the power industry's growing commitment to reliability and to protecting the critical assets of power transformer fleets."

On-site, on-line transformer monitoring is a proven solution enabling electric utilities to manage transformer assets more reliably, operate them with a greater margin of safety and minimize or safely postpone the costs of repairing or replacing these valuable assets. The cost of purchasing new power transformers can range from about $500,000 to more than $10 million each. In addition to the significant Serveron order, more than 25 other major electric utilities in the
United States are committed to new voluntary transformer-monitoring standards to help prevent transformer failures. Serveron markets its advanced dissolved gas analysis transformer monitoring technology to electric utilities, and other power generation, transmission and distribution organizations in the U.S. and around the world.

Source; BPL

Siemens and eMeter Announce Strategic Relationship

Siemens and eMeter announce a global, joint development and supply agreement for the sale and implementation of eMeter's EnergyIP™ meter data management software. Siemens will provide a global EnergyIP sales and delivery channel including installation, configuration, and first line support. eMeter will support Siemens' sales providing EnergyIP software, globalization, and advanced support.

Leveraging the strengths of both Siemens and eMeter, EnergyIP is poised to become the global standard in meter data management (MDM) software and a cornerstone for the Smart Grid. Siemens and eMeter will enable the integration of MDM with existing utility systems through strong partnering programs with providers of AMI technology and system integration services.
Siemens selected eMeter for its market leadership in MDM based on the architectural superiority of EnergyIP and its independently certified performance. EnergyIP offers sustainable competitive advantages in functionality, flexibility, scalability, open architecture, and total life-cycle cost of ownership.

"For successful utilities' long-term AMI and MDM strategies, it is essential to have an open, technology-neutral and independent MDM system, such as that offered by eMeter's EnergyIP," said Paul Maher, CEO, Siemens Metering Services.

eMeter elected to partner with Siemens for its unsurpassed global capabilities in utility software sales, delivery, and support; its expertise and array of products and services for Smart Grids; and global experience working with existing eMeter partners, including system integrators and AMI technology companies.

"Through this joint development and supply agreement, eMeter will extend the capabilities of EnergyIP and complement this with Siemens' global sales and project execution," said Cree Edwards, CEO, eMeter. "Our relationship will leverage Siemens' global sales organization operating in 190 countries and Siemens' strengths in Smart Grid products and services to make EnergyIP the global MDM standard and a foundation for grid automation."

Source; eMeter