The U.S. Energy Grid and Smart Grid Technology

America’s Aging Energy Grid

The U.S. electric grid is a complex network of independently owned and operated power plants and transmission lines. Built in the late 19^th century, our energy grid is aging and becoming less and less efficient and cost effective. Combined with a rise in domestic electricity consumption, experts in the field have been forced to critically examine the status and health of the nation’s electrical systems.

The grid of electric power lines has evolved into three large interconnected systems that move electricity around the country. Electrical systems have been expanded and interlinked. Close supervision of the workings within the three power grids (Eastern Interconnection, Western Interconnection, and Texas Interconnection) is needed to keep them linked together. The systems now includes more than 3,200 electric distribution utilities, 10,000 generating units, tens of thousands of miles of transmission and distribution lines, and millions of customers.

But the issues of the grid are many and hard to solve. Four significant challenges to improving the power grid infrastructure are:

• Siting new transmission lines (and obtaining approval of the new route and needed land) when there is local opposition to construction

• Determining an equitable approach for recovering the construction costs of a transmission line being built within one State when the new line provides economic and system operation benefits to out-of-State customers

• Ensuring that the network of long-distance transmission lines reaches renewable sites where high-quality renewable resources are located, which are often distant from areas where demand for electricity is concentrated.

• Addressing the uncertainty in Federal regulatory procedures regarding who is responsible for paying for new transmission lines; this uncertainty affects the private sector’s ability to raise money to build them.

The Smart Grid

Before even getting into what it is let’s break down the name. The “grid” in Smart Grid references the electric grid which is a network that delivers electricity to us through transmission lines, substations, and transformers, among other things. And you tap into the grid lots of times a day like when your switch on a light.

Now for the “smart.” Our current electric grid is near its capacity and we need a new and improved version that is able to handle the onslaught of technological advancement. In this new grid, the controls, computers, automation, and new technologies and equipment that make it up will work with the electrical grip for a digital response.

Why the Change?

There’s a lot of advantages that come with the introduction of Smart Grid:

• More efficient transmission of electricity
• Quicker restoration of electricity after power disturbances
• Reduced operations and management costs for utilities, and ultimately lower power costs for consumers
• Reduced peak demand, which will also help lower electricity rates
• Increased integration of large-scale renewable energy systems
• Better integration of customer-owner power generation systems, including renewable energy systems
• Improved security

Here is a real world example of Smart Grid’s benefits:

It’s winter time and there’s a major blackout in the city and in addition to hundreds of homes it’s affecting banks, street and traffic lights, and security technology. Many homes have heating that runs on electricity so they are not only left in the dark but in the cold. The dangers that could arise from a situation like this one are numerous and among them accidents and criminal activity,

But with Smart Grid, our electric power system will be better prepared to address emergencies such as severe storms, earthquakes, large solar flares, and terrorist attacks. Because of its two-way interactive capacity, the Smart Grid will allow for automatic rerouting when equipment fails or outages occur. This will decrease outages as well as their effects.

Here’s how it would work:

In the event of a power outage, Smart Grid technology will have the capacity to detect and isolate outages, preventing widespread blackouts. It can also ensure that electricity is up and running again quickly and will be able to produce power when it is not available from utilities through consumer-owned generators. Therefore, it would be possible for a community to keep its health center, police department, traffic lights, phone system, and grocery store operating during emergencies.

Consumer Participation and Control

The Smart Grid is better for consumers too. It makes information about energy use more accessible. You will no longer have to wait for your monthly statement to know how much electricity you use. It will allow you to see how much electricity you use, when you use it, and its cost. This, along with real-time pricing, will allow consumers to save money by using less power when electricity is most expensive. The Smart Grid can save money consumers money by helping them manage their electricity use and choose the best times to purchase electricity.

For much more interesting information about the U.S. energy grid and Smart Grid, check out NPR for their enlightening series Power Hungry: Reinventing The U.S. Electric Grid or visit the Electric Power Research Institute’s website (http://my.epri.com/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=210&mode=2&in_hi_userid=2&cached=true) for a meaningful look into the future of electricity. Click the links to visit the sites.

References

U.S. Department of Energy, “SmartGrid.gov.” Last modified 2012.

Parks, Noreen. 2009. “Energy efficiency and the smart grid.” Environmental Science & Technology 43, no. 9: 2999-3000. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost.

NPR, “Visualizing The U.S. Electric Grid.” Last modified 2009.

U.S. Energy Information Admisistration, “Energy in Brief : What is the electric power grid, and what are some challenges it faces?.”