Smart Grid Technology

The largest interconnected machine on Earth, the century-old power grid is so massively complex and inextricably linked to human involvement and endeavor that it has been called an ecosystem. To meet sustainability requirements, the electric industry is poised to make the transformation from a centralized, producer-controlled network to one that is less centralized and more consumerinteractive. This move promises to change the industry’s entire business model and its relationship with all stakeholders, involving and affecting utilities, regulators, energy service providers, technology and automation vendors and all consumers of electric power. Efficient transmission and distribution of electricity is a fundamental requirement for providing citizens, societies and economies with essential energy resources. In the short term, a smarter grid will indeed function more efficiently, enabling it to deliver the level of service we have come to expect more affordably in an era of rising costs, while also offering considerable societal benefits – such as less impact on our environment. In the longer term, we should expect the Smart Grid to spur the kind of transformation that the internet has already brought to the way we live, work, play and learn. And certain veteran observers within the technology space maintain that the Smart Grids represent an opportunity to technology providers larger than the internet. Given new awareness, understanding, tools and education made possible by a smarter grid, all consumers will be able to make choices that save money, enhance personal convenience, improve the environment – or all three.