Grid upgrade is 'world's largest industrial automation project'

The growing share of renewable-energy sources and advances in power grid technologies are driving an era of “unprecedented” change to our energy infrastructure.

The was the prevailing opinion of attendees at the Fourth Annual Utility of the Future Leadership Forum, held in Denver last week by energy and utilities consulting firm KEMA. The forum brought together utility executives, energy innovators and decision-makers for a day-and-a-half discussion of the industry’s challenges and opportunities.

Much of the discussion focused on the disruptive effect of the smart grid and other recent market, technology and environmental trends.

“Throughout its history, the grid has been able to absorb new technologies; what makes it different today is the unprecedented rate of change,” said Paul Camuti, president of Siemens Energy, Smart Grid Applications. “Really what we are talking about is the world’s largest industrial automation project.”

Attendees agreed both opportunities and challenges will arise from the growth of renewables, intermittency problems, increased customer sophistication, the challenges of cyber security and the role of natural gas as a transitional fuel to a low-carbon energy system.

“Environmental concerns, customers’ growing desire for control, advances in technology, and the growth of EVs and renewables are rapidly accelerating the adoption of smart grid technologies,” said Hugo van Nispen, managing director of KEMA Americas. “Utilities are actively engaged in leading the way forward to a more sustainable business — leveraging new technology –that begins to more fully connect the energy value chain in new and innovative ways.”

“I would argue that our company is currently facing the greatest changes in its 195-year history,” said Ken DeFontes, president and CEO of Baltimore Gas and Electric Company.

Most attendees agreed that energy consumers are increasingly sophisticated and want more control of their energy systems. The ability to proactively manage their energy infrastructure will require utilities to establish the “smart foundation” and work proactively with individual application developers, allowing utilities to provide additional products and services.

“Our customers are already seeing the benefits of our water and electric smart grid deployment in their water bills,” said Glenn Steiger, CEO, Glendale Water & Power. “Even though our deployment is only 80 percent complete, we’re able to discover water leaks they didn’t know about and they’re becoming smart-grid fans.”

Despite the challenges and uncertainties involved in transitioning to a more complex environment, most executives were optimistic about the opportunity to adapt. Many pointed to smart-grid pilot projects, technology advances in renewables and energy storage and the entrance of new and significant market players such as Google and Microsoft as evidence of early advancements towards the new paradigm.