User:Gaertnem/sandbox

Smart Grid III. Development Barriers and Future Legislation and Policy

There are many technological barriers to achieving a smart grid. One of the largest is the deployment advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) technology. These devises receive market data and adjust household consumption accordingly. The ability to measure bi-direction flow of power and offer dynamic pricing by AMI technology is essential to the successfulness of the deployment of other technologies such as distributed generation, demand-response measures, or automated distribution schemes. Additionally the aging distribution system raises questions as to whether it will be able to reliably handle smart technology and distributed distribution. Investments will need to be made in distribution infrastructure and management practices to handle the increase in smart technology deployment. Consumer products such as washers, driers, and water heaters need to be designed or retrofitted to handle dynamic communication of market signals from AMI devices. Finally, the widespread sharing of data and control of personal devises presents large legal, privacy, and security risks that must be addressed.

Since the federal government has stated the goal of promoting smart grid-technology, future legislation and incentives will address these barriers. The Department of Energy (DoE), Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are the primary government agencies developing smart grid policy. The DoE is working towards development of smart grids through investment grants, demonstration pilot programs, and research and development. In addition they are responsible for monitoring the progress of smart grid deployment and must submit a biannual report to Congress. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has the authority to regulate wholesale distribution of electricity. FERC is collaborating with the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop the hundreds of standards necessary to regulate smart grid technology. The development of regulations and standards for the wide range of technology involved is essential to remove legal barriers and facilitate the development of technological solutions.

In 2009, the DoE elected 9 pilot projects to demonstrate different smart grid technologies under the Distributed Systems Integration Program. Each program is expected to reduce peak loads by 15%. Projects are located in Hawaii, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Illinois, West Virginia, and New York. The technologies being tested for each project vary widely based on the resources available in the region. For example, in Las Vegas, Nevada where residential energy demand is high due to the desert climate, the “Hybrid” Home project by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas aims to reduce residential peak load demand by developing photovoltaics and energy storage with advanced meters for automated demand response. In Illinois on the other hand, the Never-Failing Perfect Power Prototype by the Illinois Institute of Technology aims to integrate advanced meters, power controller systems, and demand response controllers to create a more robust distribution grid that reduce peak loads and reduces the risk of blackouts. These pilot projects are important research opportunities both to develop the new technology and to point out policy and regulation concerns that must be addressed.

In addition to funding research and pilot programs, the DoE is tasked with monitoring the development of smart grids and reporting to Congress every two years. In their first report in 2009, the DoE set forth 20 metric by which current smart grids deployment was rated and can be measured. The report found that policy and regulatory progress was at a low level of maturity but was increasing at a moderate trend. The report also stated that policy and regulation should be emphasized to enable the development of new smart grid products, services, and markets.

FERC primary responsibilities and jurisdiction requires it to establish rates and terms and conditions for wholesale interstate transmission and sale of electricity. Under EISA it is given the authority to develop standards but has not been mandated to or given the authority to make standards mandatory. Their efforts therefore have been to collect information and concerns from stakeholders such as National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and assist the NIST in developing standards relevant to FERC’s jurisdiction. FERC identified two major policy issues to address, system security and inter-system communication. In addition it identified wide-area situational awareness, demand response, electric storage, electric vehicles, advanced metering, and distribution system automation as six areas of functionality that must be given priority.

In January 2010 the NIST published the Framework and Roadmap for Smart Grid Interoperability Stadards, Release 1.0. The publication identified 75 standards that range from telecommunications, internet, and power industry topics that are likely applicable to smart grids. In addition, it identified 16 priority areas that are essential to addressing policy and regulatory gaps. The NIST also formed the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel of 22 stakeholders to continueally provide input on the regulations being developed. This panel will play a major role in the second release of the standards which work began on in October 2010.

At the state level, several states have created legislation to facilitate the development of smart grids. In California Senate Bill 17 requires the California Public Utility Commission (California PUC) to create a smart grid deployment plan by July 1, 2001 and electrical corporations must submit a smart grid deployment plan to the California PUC by June 1, 2011. The bill required that standards be adopted for California that complied with standards from NIST, the Gridwise Architecture Council, the International Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the North America Electric Reliability Cooperation, and FERC. If utilities fail to meet the standards or present a plan to meet them by the June 1 deadline, they will be vulnerable to millions of dollars in penalties. In Illinois, utilities must reduce peak load by 0.1% every year for 10 years according to the Illinois Power Agency Act, Senate Bill 1592. While this does not specifically require the development of smart grids, it has resulted in several state utilities to invest in smart grids including the deployment of several hundred thousand smart meters. Similar policy has been enacted in Maryland, according to the EmPOWER Maryland Energy Efficiency Act of 2008, Senate Bill 205, utilities must reduce peak demand by 15% by 2015. The law tasks the Maryland Public Service Commission with determine the effectiveness of smart grid technology and gives it the authority to mandate the deployment of smart grid technology by utilities. In Colorado the city of Boulder is acting as a case study on smart grid technology. A major concern of the state legislature is security of information being transmitted over the grid, the findings in Boulder will play a significant role in the development of policy for the rest of the state.

References Template:Reflist