Big government, big business and small business will build the Smart Grid
The announcement of venture capital firms and GE launching a $200 million fund to improve the way we create, connect and use power and the federal government’s entry into critical infrastructure security dubbed the “Perfect Citizen Program” should make for some interesting conversation at the Smart Grid 2010 Summer V-Summit at the end of this month. It is clear that the Smart Grid momentum has started and will continue to move forward. Finding ways to security and efficiency improve global power production and distribution is an ongoing process and we have just begun.
I participate in eight smart grid and utility groups addressing a variety of subjects on this matter. I will admit that we do need more imagination while recognizing the realities of current Smart Grid infrastructure and security. I have received comments from current power company engineers stating that a smart meter design under regulatory cost guidelines needs to last at least 15 to 20 years while smart home software engineers warn that home area network application software will change every six months. I have had R&D engineers state that it will be 10 to 15 years before we have the technologies and infrastructure to deploy Smart Grids while small cities have already deployed smart power and utility systems and are already using the same infrastructure for other city services. I have never seen such a divergence in views but there is a common point of agreement. The efficiencies the Smart Grid can provide will be achieved with or without stimulus funding.
Dept of Energy Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability
To understand why there is such a disparity in thinking when it comes to the Smart Grid, I would suggest looking at the diagram above. When participating in professional Smart Grid discussions I discovered that in the same group conversation, one person will be talking about technology and another about policy and regulation. We had power companies looking at things one way with users and environmental groups another way, and policy makers sometimes stopping both of them. I had to just stop at times and make a general comment that I know how to offer solutions that support the progress of Smart Grid and I did not have the luxury of a regulatory attorney on retainer. This is what you get when you have years of regulated bureaucracy. It may be time for a fresh look.
The Smart Grid and the solutions to its successes are not simple. That’s why when things look too complicated there are two things I always do. First I find someone who already has simply done what you are looking for and second, find a consulting and real world integration group already in the middle of things that have gained experience on the subject. Interestingly enough that is exactly what I found when looking for successful Smart Grid solutions.
Let’s do complicated first just so you understand you can’t just turn the Smart Grid switch on. I have done a lot of upgrading from legacy communication networks to digital IP networks and there is one thing I have found. It’s a lot easier to just build a brand new IP network than it is to interface a bunch of dissimilar legacy technologies into one homogeneous network. This does not include massive amounts of equipment, hardware, sensors, software and network infrastructure that current power companies have with years of technology between each component and regulations they must follow when making changes. This type of change requires well understood and well planned migration paths or frankly you may be out of power. This is where companies like GE Energy and Capgemini in.
In a recent Smart Grid Alliance webinar, Doug Preece, Utilities Industry Specialist from Capgemini, summed up just how big and complex the opportunity is. He referenced the SmartGrid.gov site as a way to track the billions of grant awards already released by the Smart Grid Investment Grant (SGIG) program. In fact there is so much work to be done Preece stated that there would be “a tremendous draw on resources across the industry, vendors and service providers”, and that “there in no lack of opportunity.”
Dave Malkin, Policy Manager for GE Energy, has been following a variety of policy issues as they relate to the Smart Grid. One of the top policy issues he is tracking is cyber security policy. “Cyber Security has been a hot button in congress for months now” said Malkin. He addressed his concern on how currently cyber policy passed by Congress could effect the Smart Grid. He agrees that we need to, “effectively address real world smart grid cyber security treats but not in a way that might stifle smart grid innovation investment.”
As the complexity of Smart Grid policy and technology discussions continue, forward thinking people like the small city of Rock Hill, South Carolina already decided to start a municipal wireless network a few years back. With the network technology designed by Tropos Networks, the city of Rock Hill is an example of a municipally owned and operated utility that initially deployed the network for smart meters — power and water. Today, the city-wide wireless broadband mesh network is helping other city departments improve efficiencies, customer satisfaction, public safety and billing accuracy, while significantly reducing operational costs.
”The city of Rock Hill incorporated wireless broadband as part of the city’s strategy to build a multi-use communications foundation. This is great example of a community that started out with a much smaller plan focused on modernizing and improving utility services and expanded their vision to one which has produced long-term benefits for the community, ” said Denise Barton, marketing director, Tropos Networks.
I will admit that building the Smart Grid is a major undertaking but the answer may be just do it. In previous articles I disclosed security concerns from industry professionals in today’s power grids with solutions in place developed in Military and DoD applications that have direct and immediate application to the current Smart Grid security problems. What we did in security is a good model of what we need to do now when transforming our global power grids.
With billions given out by the federal government in the form of stimulus grants and GE Energy offering $200 million in venture capital to small businesses, there is a clear message. We are dong this and we are doing this now. We need to use what we have today in immediate deployable technologies while finding migration paths from the old power grid infrastructure to the new Smart Grid. I’ll tell you this much, big government, big business and small business working together addressing critical global energy needs while creating jobs. Count me in.
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About the author
Larry Karisny is the Director of Project Safety.org and a consultant supporting local wireless broadband, smart grid, transportation and security platforms. ProjectSafety Business and Technology Cluster researches and deploys leading edge standards based technologies supporting secure migration paths to current and future wireless networks and network applications.
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