UTILITIES MOVE TO SMART GRID

Utilities Getting Serious About Smart Grid Implementation, Concludes New Study
10 March 2011 (Renew Grid)

"More utilities are moving past the smart grid planning phase and into implementation, concludes [The Microsoft Worldwide Utility Industry Survey 2011]…[which] shows an 8% increase in the number of utilities moving from the smart grid planning phase to the implementation phase…[and] that 73% of utilities expect their budgets to support smart grid efforts.

"The survey, which polled more than 210 professionals within electric, gas and related companies around the world, also highlights the challenges utilities face - from financial and regulatory to technology and return on investment - as they move from planning to actual smart grid implementation."

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"One of the survey's key findings is that utilities need architectural and implementation guidance to be certain that future smart grid technology advances will integrate with and help protect their existing technology investments.

"Responses to a new survey question show that, despite their confidence in today's smart grid technologies, 64% of respondents do not have a clear view of the enterprise-wide information and technology infrastructure they will use to structure current and future smart grid deployments. The same percentage of respondents said the flexibility to adopt new or future technologies is paramount to achieving the grid of the future…"

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"In similar results to those found in the 2010 survey, 72% of utility professionals and executives perceive distribution management as the most important solution needed for successful smart grid implementations, and 60% expect their budgets for distribution- and energy-management technologies to increase this year.

"In addition, more than 50% of respondents see their customer information systems changing dramatically as a result of the smart grid, with many utilities looking at replacements or working to find ways to adapt their systems to interval billing, electric vehicles and other demand-side management and new energy programs."