SMART GRID COSTS & BENEFITS

EPRI Estimates Costs, Benefits Of Full Smart Grid Deployment
7 April 2011 (Renew Grid)

"The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has released a broad assessment of the costs and benefits to modernize the U.S. electricity system and fully deploy the smart grid. Factoring in a wide range of new technologies, applications and consumer benefits, the investment needed to implement a fully functional smart grid ranges from $338 billion to $476 billion and can result in benefits between $1.3 trillion and $2 trillion…

"The estimate reflects new technologies related to the grid, information and communication technologies; market structures; demands of an increasingly digital society; more widespread deployment of renewable power production and its integration into the grid; expansion and maintenance of existing infrastructure; and technologies and systems to address grid security."

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"…[Estimating the Costs and Benefits of the Smart Grid; A Preliminary Estimate of the Investment Requirements and the Resultant Benefits of a Fully Functioning Smart Grid] updates EPRI's 2004 EPRI assessment, which estimated the cost of implementing a smart grid at $165 billion. The updated analysis assumes steady deployment of smart grid technologies beginning in 2010 and continuing through 2030.

"Mark McGranaghan, EPRI vice president of power delivery and utilization, says the increased costs of the current analysis reflect a more advanced and expansive vision for the smart grid…"

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"…[EPRI] analyzed projected costs over the next 20 years…[in four] core smart grid technologies…transmission, substation, distribution and customer interface. It then subdivided estimates into two segments: investment required to meet load growth and to correct deficiencies (e.g., power-flow bottlenecks and high-fault currents that damage critical equipment) through equipment installation, upgrades and replacement; and investment needed to develop and deploy advanced technologies to achieve ‘smart’ functionality…

"The assessment found that deploying a smarter grid will require careful policy formulation, accelerated infrastructure investment and a greater commitment to public-private research, development and demonstrations to overcome barriers and vulnerabilities."