What is a Smart Grid? Are There Dumb Ones?

And those are not dumb questions.

The “national grid” which in theory is supposed to connect all parts of the American electric system, from coast to coast, is still a “work in progress.”

Falling under the category of Misleading Titles, it is unfortunate that an English Corporation calling itself National Grid has invaded our shores with unfortunate results. The firm intended to produce a real grid system for the U.S. and instead wound up purchasing a number of U.S. utilities, primarily in the Northeast.

So recognizing that the American Grid is really a few localized grids handling groups of states utilities the old grid (the not-so-smart one) is what has developed almost haphazardly over the years with sections added as needed.

The New, SMART Grid will be one that has the technological ability to sense where power is needed and, on an instant notice, get it there.

So you can see several things are required.

First the wire connections must be installed connecting all the parts, generators, distribution centers, lines to electric companies and lines to the ultimate consumers.

Second, the digital technology that will in turn do several things:

1. Control the delivery system, sensing and satisfying need

2. Allow bidirectional power flow (going in reverse directions when load requirements shift from one area to another)

3. With devices installed in consumer’s homes on their appliances, read times and amounts of use and charge extra for on-peak usage.

There are some still undeveloped (and controversial) programs proposed under which a consumer would let the electric company know what he would have plugged into his system and the electric company would be able to selectively turn off some devices in order to prevent blackouts or brownouts

This latter idea raises some pretty serious privacy issues since the electric company would know how private citizens use each of their appliances.

So, perhaps the earlier grid was not so much dumb as inert and civilly harmless.