weíve successful innovative electric acs with...
TRANSCRIPT
ìWeíve been successful for decades
as an innovative electric cooperative and ACS has been with us every step of the way.î
Cobb EMC was our �rst customer, keeping pace with advances in our
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Advanced DMS
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acspower.com
Bhaji Dhillon, P.E. CEM, Director
Cobb EMC, Marietta, Georgia
40YearsCheers
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AdvCon_PGdec_1504 1 3/31/15 10:58 AM
T H E O F F I C I A L P U B L I C A T I O N O F
18 Germany’s Smart Distribution
21 Do Smart Meters Lie?
28 Improve Customer Satisfaction
YOUR POWER DELIVERY MEDIA SOURCE
Bridging Utilities, Self-generators
PO
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RID
.CO
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: A
PR
IL 2
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1504pg_C1 1 4/6/15 1:46 PM
To learn more about our smart solutions, visit sensus.com/reach.
You never know what you’re capable of
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That’s why we’re continuously anticipating and responding to your challenges. Delivering the metrology,That’s why we’re continuously anticipating and responding to your challenges. Delivering the metrology,
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All to improve effi ciency, responsiveness and the quality of life in your communities. So when you’re readyAll to improve effi ciency, responsiveness and the quality of life in your communities. So when you’re ready
to reach farther, you can count on us to be there reaching right along with you.to reach farther, you can count on us to be there reaching right along with you.
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1504pg_C2 2 4/6/15 1:46 PM
FEBRUARY 9–11, 2016 + DISTRIBUTECH.COMORANGE COUNTY CONVENTION CENTER - WEST HALLS A & B + ORLANDO, FL
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+ Demand Response
+ Distributed Energy Resources and
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+ Energy Efficiency
+ Energy Storage
+ Enterprise Information and Asset
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+ Geospatial and Mobile Solutions
+ Grid Communications
+ International Smart Grid Projects
+ Smart Distribution Management
+ Smart Grid Operations Solutions
+ Substation Integration and Automation
+ Transmission and Energy Storage
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SUBMIT YOUR ABSTRACT OR UTILITY UNIVERSITY® PROPOSAL
DEADLINE IS MONDAY, JUNE 8Submit online at distributech.com
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1504pg_1 1 4/6/15 1:45 PM
28
APRIL 2015 VOLUME 20.04
PowerGrid International®: ISSN 1547-6723,
is published 12 times per year (January,
February, March, April, May, June, July, August,
September, October, November and December)
by PennWell Corp., 1421 S. Sheridan Rd., Tulsa
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2 | April 2015www.power-grid.com
Bridging the Disconnect Between Utilities,
Self-generators Editor in Chief Teresa Hansen shares results
of two Rocky Mountain Institute analyses on
solar PV and potential grid defection.
32 Case Study: Oahu Electricity Customers Save Energy, Money With Gamification App
Rainer Boelzle of People Power Co. writes about a 12-week pilot project in which Oahu electricity customers participated. The program combined technology, education, games and rewards to change their electricity consumption behavior.
35 Calendar/Ad Index
36 Products
21 Your Smart Meters Say the Power is Out; Are They Lying?
Forrest Small of Bridge Energy Group shares how BC Hydro uses technologies for outage and restoration notification, but in a much smarter way.
30 Doing the Right Thing While Doing Things Right
James Delande of ClickSoftware explains how to improve electric utility customer satisfaction and drive productivity.
26 Helping the Utility Industry, Industrial Sector Accommodate Renewable Energy
Rob Day of Black Coral Capital and Kevin Klustner of Powerit Solutions write that the industrial sector’s desire for energy independence, plus its adoption of renewable energy, is affecting the utility industry’s financial future and could precipitate a structural crisis in energy supply.
© CAN STOCK PHOTO INC. / SERGEYNIVENS
From the Editor 4
Notes 5
Smart Electricity 18
Distribution in Germany In Germany, voltage levels
limit capacity of most grids, especially where many renewable energy generators
operate. Britta Buchholz of ABB tackles legislation,
increasing complexity, active voltage regulation in
Rhineland, monitoring and control in Bavaria and
smart planning.
1504pg_2 2 4/6/15 1:45 PM
Yes, S&C’s self-healing grids are proven to pay for
themselves. They do this by avoiding unnecessary
truck roles, costly equipment damage, and reducing
customer outages.
It doesn’t matter if you have 10 or 1,000 switching
points, our fast and intelligent self-healing solutions
have proven to deliver cost savings for utilities around
the world.
Rather then let us tell you, let us show you. Contact
us today and we will help you build the economic case
for self-healing grids.
Scan the QR code
below to watch a
video and learn about
the economic impact
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into the smart grid.
Or visit us at:
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Is there a business case forself-healing grids?
©2015 S&C Electric Company 1048-A1502
Go to pgi.hotims.com for more information.
Right
1504pg_3 3 4/6/15 1:45 PM
EDITOR IN CHIEF Teresa Hansen
918.831.9504 [email protected]
SENIOR EDITOR Kristen Wright
918.831.9177 [email protected]
ONLINE/ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jeff Postelwait
918.831.9114 [email protected]
GRAPHIC DESIGNER Deanna Taylor
918.832.9378 [email protected]
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR TransmissionHub Senior Analyst Corina Rivera-Linares
BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR Angie O’Dea
918.831.9431 [email protected]
VICE PRESIDENT-AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT & MARKETING
June Griffin
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phone 847.763.9540 [email protected]
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, NORTH AMERICAN POWER GENERATION GROUP
Richard Baker 918.831.9187 [email protected]
PENNWELL CORP. IN EUROPE PennWell International Limited
The Water Tower, Gunpowder Mill Waltham Abbey, Essex EN9 1BN, United Kingdom
phone +44.1992.656600 fax +44.1992.656700
CHAIRMAN Frank T. Lauinger
PRESIDENT/CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Robert F. Biolchini
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER/ SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT
Mark C. Wilmoth
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POWERGRID International is the offcial publication of
4 | April 2015www.power-grid.com
FROM THE EDITOR
Go to www.pgi.hotims.com for more information.
EDITOR IN CHIEF TERESA HANSEN
Renewables, Storage and Self-generators Redefne Grid
A few months ago, someone in the industry laughed when I mentioned
energy storage as an up-and-coming grid technology. Now I feel somewhat
vindicated. Energy storage is becoming more affordable sooner than many
expected and is poised to be an important part of the future grid, especially
when coupled with renewable energy sources.
“Helping the Utility Industry, Industrial Sector Accommodate Renewable
Energy” on Page 26 and “Bridging the Disconnect Between Utilities, Self-
generators” on Page 28 predict that energy storage coupled with solar
power will be cost-effective for many commercial, industrial and residential
electricity consumers in a few years. As the cost becomes competitive with
or lower than utility-supplied electricity, more consumers will invest in these
technologies and rely less on utility-supplied electricity that is almost certain
to become more expensive as more customers defect from the grid.
The importance of energy storage also was validated during a POWERGRID
International webcast I moderated in late March called “Beyond Integration:
Three Dynamics Reshaping Renewables and the Grid.” More than 1,300
people registered for the webcast sponsored and presented by DNV GL,
725 of whom listened live, and they asked 115 questions. This was one
of the largest live audiences and most questions I’ve seen. The webcast
covered DNV GL’s survey for which it polled more than 1,600 professionals
from 71 countries and interviewed many leading industry executives. The
respondents were asked to comment on a scenario in which renewables
account for 70 percent of the power sector’s generation capacity. How likely
is this to occur? How quickly? Who would be the winners and losers?
Eighty percent of survey respondents said 70 percent renewables can be
achieved before 2050. They said advancements and changes in technologies,
markets, behavior and regulation will allow and enable that change. More
than 65 percent of the survey respondents said energy storage will be the
biggest contributor to integrating 70 percent renewables. In addition, more
than half of the webcast audience’s questions related to energy storage.
You may learn more about the survey by viewing the free, archived
webcast on our website at www.power-grid.com/webcasts/2015/03/beyond-
integration.html.
Whether the 70 percent of DNV GL’s survey respondents are correct
remains to be seen, but during the next 35 years, energy storage will be
planted firmly in the two-way grid that will move a large percentage of
renewable energy.
Expect more articles and news about energy storage in POWERGRID
International and on our website.
1504pg_4 4 4/6/15 1:45 PM
April 2015 | 5 www.power-grid.com
NOTES
the thermal energy storage equipment.”
The product attaches to one or more
standard 5- to 20-ton commercial AC
units. The Ice Bear freezes ice at night
when demand for power is low and capac-
ity is abundant. During the day, stored
ice provides cooling, instead of power-
intensive AC compressors. Each Ice Bear
can reduce carbon dioxide emissions up to
10 tons annually.
Riverside, like other public utilities in
California, is increasing its investment
in renewable sources to meet Gov. Jerry
Brown’s new legislation that ups the state’s
goal to 50 percent renewables by 2030.
Energy storage, particularly distributed,
efficient and cost-effective storage, will
help maintain a robust and reliable grid.
Nearly 1,000 Ice Bear units are installed
in more than 40 utility service territories
nationwide, surpassing 25 million hours
of reliable operation.
Cooperative and RBC chairman.
Several other RBC members submitted
rural broadband experiment applications
but were not selected by the FCC in this
round. Instead, these utilities will be able
to compete for funding under Connect
America Fund Phase II in those census
blocks included in their rural broadband
experiments proposals, removing these
census blocks from the right of first refusal
for price cap carriers to accept model-
based support. This makes these blocks
available for competitive bids from utilities
that intend to provide broadband with
better service than that offered by the price
cap carriers.
Riverside Public Utilities in California
recently awarded Ice Energy a five-year
contract to provide 5 MW of behind-the-
meter thermal energy storage, the com-
pany announced.
The program will kick off
this spring.
The city of
Riverside, the hottest
climate zone in the
Los Angeles basin,
selected Ice Energy’s
Ice Bear to align with
its Utility 2.0 smart grid
and renewable energy plan.
The smart grid-enabled thermal energy
storage technology will help Riverside
Public Utilities better integrate renew-
able energy resources such as wind,
solar and geothermal systems to main-
tain low energy costs for its customers.
“This is our first energy storage project
Six members of the Rural Broadband
Council (RBC), a membership section of
the Utilities Telecom Council (UTC), made
the list of bidders provisionally selected to
receive funding to participate in broadband
experiments, the Federal Communications
Commission’s Wireline Competition
Bureau announced in a March 4 public
notice. The RBC members are:
• BARC Electric Cooperative, Virginia;
• City of Chanute, Kansas;
• Douglas Services Inc., Oregon;
• Lake Region Technology &
Communications LLC, Oklahoma;
• Midwest Energy Cooperative d/b/a
Midwest Connections, Michigan; and
launching a new era, Utility 2.0, for the
city of Riverside,” said Girish Balchandran,
general manager for Riverside Public
Utilities. “We chose Ice Energy’s tech-
nology to improve grid reli-
ability and to reduce peak
capacity of commercial
business air condi-
tioning for many
reasons. It will help
to minimize infra-
structure investment,
help to achieve our
environmental objectives,
all while ensuring the lowest
energy costs for customers. The proj-
ect also creates an economic develop-
ment opportunity whereby 30 to 40
percent of the project investment will
be going right back into our commu-
nity using labor and project materials
sourced locally to install and operate
• Northeast Rural Services Inc.,
Oklahoma.
These projects will deploy a network
capable of delivering speeds of 100 Mbps
downstream/25 Mbps upstream while
offering at least one service plan that
provides 25 Mbps downstream/5 Mbps
upstream to all locations within the select-
ed census block or blocks.
“The strong showing by RBC mem-
bers in the FCC rural experiment process
proves that electric utilities are poised
to again transform rural America—this
time with high-speed Internet service,”
said Mike Keyser, CEO of BARC Electric
CALIFORNIA’S RIVERSIDE PUBLIC UTILITIES TAPS
ICE ENERGY FOR RENEWABLE PLAN
6 UTC RURAL BROADBAND COUNCIL MEMBERS PROVISIONALLY
SELECTED FOR RURAL BROADBAND EXPERIMENTS FUNDING
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1504pg_5 5 4/6/15 1:45 PM
To see more about David and the rest of the Hubbell team visit hpsdelivers.com/poweron.
HOW CAN I HELP YOU?
JUST ENJOYING THE RIDE.
Being a Harley® guy, I respect legacy. Working for Hubbell, I honor experience.
After 40 years, I guess I know a thing or two about the power utility industry,
and I take pride in training the new kids. The work I am doing today is paving
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grooming, then that in itself will be a legacy worth leaving.
My name is David Crotty. I am the Hubbell Difference.
SYSTEMS
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- HA R LE Y A F F I C IA N A D O
& P R O D U C T MA NAG E R
AD_00_077E
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8 | April 2015www.power-grid.com
NOTES
A SolarCity-MP2 Energy partnership
just made it possible for some Dallas and
Fort Worth area homeowners to pay less
for solar electricity than they pay for util-
ity power for the first time without any
local incentives.
Customers who sign up for
SolarCity’s service and electrici-
ty service from MP2 will receive
full credit for all the solar elec-
tricity they provide to the utility
grid. Known as full net meter-
ing, the practice is common
in most of the U.S. but avail-
able for the
first time in
Texas exclu-
sively through this
partnership. The pro-
gram initially will be
available to qualified homeowners in the
Dallas-Fort Worth area. The two com-
panies expect to expand it to additional
markets later this year.
Texas is the nation’s largest energy
producer and among the top five energy
consumers per capita, according to the
U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Texas residents traditionally have enjoyed
electricity prices below the national aver-
age, and solar power adoption in the
state has been limited largely to areas
where local incentives drive down the
cost of solar electricity. SolarCity and
MP2’s ability to provide solar electricity
at a discount to retail utility rates without
local incentives in Texas has implications
for solar adoption in a broad range of
locations with comparable rates.
“With an average of 240 sunny days
per year, Texas is often considered a
sleeping giant when it comes to its
panels to provide solar electricity to
Texas homeowners, and homeowners
will sign up with MP2 for any addi-
tional electricity needs. MP2 will track
customers’ solar energy production and
consumption every month. Customers
who produce more than they consume
will be credited at the full retail value for
excess production, including transmis-
sion and distribution service charges.
Most retail electricity providers in Texas
limit the credits for solar power pro-
duced—typically up to 500 kWh per
month—or require them to forfeit any
unused solar power at the end of the
month. MP2 Energy will not implement
a cap for its program and will allow cus-
tomers to carry forward any excess gen-
eration to subsequent monthly bills until
the customer can fully use it for the year.
“MP2’s pure net metering program is
truly the first of its kind in Texas, finally
making solar a viable option for residen-
tial customers,” Starcher said. “The terms
of this program can allow customers to
see immediate savings on solar and make
government and local incentives, which
have decreased in the past few years, less
important. It demonstrates that the value
of solar to electricity providers is increas-
ing and is aligned with retail rates.”
While other retail electric providers
increase or decrease their solar costs
based on monthly energy factors, such
as the price of natural gas, MP2 allows
customers to lock in a fixed rate for 12 or
24 months. MP2 also will allow custom-
ers to terminate their contracts without
fees or penalties, which is also a unique
offer in Texas.
SolarCity will serve customers from
its local operations center in Northwest
Dallas. Interested homeowners can con-
tact SolarCity directly for a free, no-
obligation solar consultation or visit the
company online.
MP2 Energy is a full service power
company that serves some 900 MW to
customers in Texas, Illinois, Pennsylvania
and Ohio. The top-tier company inte-
grates capabilities across its core services
from plant development, plant manage-
ment, demand response and retail elec-
tric supply to end-use customers.
SolarCity provides renewable electric-
ity directly to homeowners, businesses
and government organizations for less
than they spend on utility bills.
SOLAR POWER GETS CHEAPER THAN UTILITY
POWER FOR SOME TEXAS HOMEOWNERS
potential for solar power, and unlocking
this state has huge implications for the
solar industry at large,” said Jeff Starcher,
chairman and CEO of MP2 Energy. “To
date, solar has only worked where there
are local incentives. With this new part-
nership, we are making solar a
practical option for residential
customers in Texas.”
Under the program, SolarCity
will install solar
© C
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1504pg_8 8 4/6/15 1:45 PM
Go to pgi.hotims.com for more information.
Cost Effective � Easy to Install
For more information, call 1-877-848-9682
1800 Shames Drive, Westbury, NY 11590 � electroind.com
Automation begins
with Power Meters
The Heart of Any Automation Solution
SHARK 2OO
April 2015 | 9 www.power-grid.com
opportunity, and utilities face undue
consequences when selecting a cloud
computing offering because of the cur-
rent rate recovery rules.
After delivering oral testimony, Siebel
answered questions from subcommit-
tee members about the economic ben-
efit, necessity for Congressional action
and overall impact of the cloud-based
software innovations that will make
the smart grid smart. Seven witnesses,
including Siebel, testified at the hear-
ing, which examined how advanced
grid technologies and big data energy
analytics are helping build a more mod-
ern and flexible electricity system while
ensuring the continued safe, reliable
and affordable delivery of electricity.
C3 Energy Chairman and CEO Thomas
M. Siebel testified March 4 before the U.S.
House of Representatives about technology
innovation and how it is reshaping the way
utilities do business.
Removing regulatory obstacles, Siebel
said during the Energy & Commerce
Committee Subcommittee on Energy and
Power hearing, could accelerate an effi-
cient, more secure and more sustainable
modern grid.
“The power grid is now undergoing one
of the biggest and transformative upgrades
since its beginnings, by adding hundreds
of millions of sensors that make devices
and other equipment remotely machine
addressable—from smart meters and ther-
mostats to transformers and distribution
feeders,” Siebel said. “These systems pro-
duce massive amounts of data, some of
them in millisecond timescales. To take
full advantage of this, C3 Energy has devel-
oped the operating system for this smart
grid. Because our technology produces far
more savings than it costs, it does not need
any financial assistance from the govern-
ment to succeed. But that success will
occur much faster if regulatory obstacles
are removed and state regulators support
a model rule to allow rate recovery from
modern cloud computing solutions.”
As the grid becomes increasingly
sensored, an unprecedented amount of
data are produced, which can be addressed
only using the most state-of-the-art infor-
mation technology (IT). IT offerings have
evolved rapidly to today’s innovative cloud
computing models, including Software
as a Service, Platform as a Service and
Infrastructure as a Service. With these
come opportunities to leverage numer-
ous capabilities essential to fulfilling the
promise of the smart grid: continuous
access to increased processing speeds
and power, more flexibility and mobil-
ity, elasticity/on-demand surge capacity,
and lower costs through scale. The U.S.
regulatory treatment of cloud comput-
ing models, however, has not kept pace
to take advantage of this technology
C3’S SIEBEL TESTIFIES TO HOUSE ENERGY & COMMERCE COMMITTEE
ON ENERGY INNOVATION REGULATORY CHALLENGES
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PHOTO BY CLIFTON LI.
10 | April 2015www.power-grid.com
NOTES
EYE ON THE WORLD
Energy management specialist Schneider Electric,
Ryerson University and the Ontario Ministry of Energy in
March officially unveiled the Schneider Electric Smart Grid
Laboratory (SESG Lab) at Ryerson’s Centre for Urban Energy
(CUE) in Toronto.
Canada’s first university-based smart grid lab
is available to partners and collaborators to test
new products or operational strategies, validate grid
transformation solutions, conduct research and train
employees.
The SESG Lab was sponsored by the Ministry of
Energy and funded partly through the Ontario Smart
Grid Fund initiative.
“Building a smarter electricity grid is a key part of
our government’s plan to modernize Ontario’s energy
infrastructure and provide clean, reliable affordable power
to consumers,” said Bob Chiarelli, Ontario minister of
energy. “Supporting Ryerson’s Centre for Urban Energy and
the development of the Schneider Electric Smart Grid Lab,
we are setting the stage for innovations that will be the
backbone for our energy system for future generations.”
The SESG Lab can replicate the operation of a substation
and feeders of an electrical utility distribution system. It
has core infrastructure that supports organizations in the
research and development of leading-edge solutions and
systems related to smart grid technology.
Smart grids are the future of Canada’s power, said
Léonce Fraser, vice president of the Projects Execution
Centre with Schneider Electric Canada.
“Pilot projects and testing will play a key role in
building out the smart grid, and we want to help
companies with smart grid products, utilities and
educators build a better future for Canadian energy,”
Fraser said.
PowerStream, a community-owned energy company
that provides power and related services to more than
370,000 customers primarily north of Toronto and in
Central Ontario, will be the first utility to use the
SESG Lab by creating a physical replica of three
feeders from its Greenwood transformer station
in Vaughan. PowerStream will test its system
under different renewable energy scenarios
and explore practical solutions to challenges
such as reverse flows on feeders. This will
include the role of electricity storage devices
in reducing line losses and increasing the
capacity for renewable energy. The utility also
will test how to reduce customer energy costs
through leading-edge power controls.
PowerStream President and CEO Brian Bentz
attributes the utility’s success largely to its
partners on its initiatives.
“We see the same unfolding for this project, as well,”
Bentz said. “We look forward to working with Ryerson
University and Schneider Electric and would like to
thank the government of Ontario for its support.”
In addition to acting as a facility for collaborative
industrial research and testing, the SESG lab will give
the next generation of smart grid engineers, scientists,
planners and operators valuable hands-on experience
in a utility environment.
Colleges and universities can use the centre to
provide real-world training for students, research
innovative solutions and collaborate with industry, said
Sheldon Levy, president of Ryerson University.
“It also provides a perfect setting for utilities to train
their employees on new systems and for students to learn
how the next-generation energy grid works,” he said.
Schneider Electric Smart Grid Lab opens at Ryerson University Centre for Urban Energy
PH
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1504pg_10 10 4/6/15 1:45 PM
April 2015 | 11 www.power-grid.com
Silver Spring Networks Inc. has been selected for
Bristol Is Open, a smart city program and joint venture
between Bristol City Council and the University of
Bristol in England, the company announced.
The program will deploy Silver Spring’s standards-
based IPv6 wireless network across the city, connecting
smart city sensors and creating a living innovation
lab. Qualified startup businesses, entrepreneurs and
academic institutions will be able to leverage the
resulting sensor data and insights to prototype new
smart city applications and services. Silver Spring also
will connect existing city assets, such as street lights
in the Brunel Mile and other centrally located areas,
enabling Bristol to demonstrate rapidly the economic
and energy benefits of intelligent street lighting. The
same network canopy also can be used for other
advanced smart city applications such as parking
meters, traffic light and congestion sensors, safety
cameras, air-quality sensors, weather sensors, public
transportation sensors, remote personal health care
monitors and acoustic detection.
“We are building in Bristol the world’s first open
programmable city, a groundbreaking project aimed at
providing a platform for the development of applications
that will promote innovation and deliver a better quality
of life,” said Paul Wilson, managing director of Bristol
Is Open. “After a fair and open competition, we are
delighted to be working with Silver Spring Networks.
A variety of factors informed our decision, one of
which was Silver Spring Network’s ability to support an
open Software Defined Network environment. We look
forward to working together in the spirit of innovation
as we break new ground.”
Silver Spring’s smart city solution helps connect
critical infrastructure in cities such as Chicago,
Copenhagen, Glasgow, Melbourne, Paris, Sao Paulo,
San Francisco and Singapore and includes what is
believed to be the largest smart street light project
in the world: nearly 500,000 networked lights across
Miami and South Florida. Silver Spring’s solution
enables multiple applications and services to leverage
a common network, control and data platform to help
drive economic, sustainability, transportation, energy
efficiency and safety initiatives.
UK smart city program Bristol Is Open selects Silver Spring Networks
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1504pg_11 11 4/6/15 1:45 PM
12 | April 2015www.power-grid.com
NOTES
Saudi Electricity Co. (SEC) recently awarded Avantha
Group Co. CG a contract worth 3.4 million euros to supply
ZIV three-phase smart meters.
SEC is the largest power utility in the Middle East
with some 5 million customers in Saudi Arabia. The
utility is implementing the Saudi
government’s policy to develop
the kingdom’s electricity sector,
the primary objective being safe,
reliable and affordable electricity.
SEC has taken an important step
toward smart grid deployment by
defining a new functionality and
data model for smart meter performance. Key features are
interoperability, remote management and accuracy.
CG bagged the largest lot for the supply of the first
batch of industrial smart meters. Small-business owners
will be the first to have their meters replaced. The smart
meters will be connected to current transformers and will
communicate via modem (GPRS).
The Saudi electricity market is the largest in the Arab
world with a peak load of 53,864 MW in 2013. Demand
for electricity is predicted to increase
by an average rate of 7 to 8 percent
for the foreseeable future, driven by a
growing population, rising per capita
consumption and an ever-expanding
industrial base.
CG, after acquiring ZIV, has become
a key provider of smart meters
globally. Key contracts include European utilities such as
Iberbrola, Gas Natural Fenosa in Spain, EDP in Portugal and
ERDF in France, totaling more than 60 million euros in the
fiscal year.
Saudi Electricity Co. picks CG smart meters
Merjent Inc., an environmental and social consultancy
for energy and mining companies, recently announced the
opening of operations in Vancouver, British Columbia.
After more than a decade of serving clients from its
Minneapolis headquarters, Merjent has incorporated in
Canada to support existing clients and answer increasing
demand for environmental and social consulting services.
“Merjent’s expansion into Canada is a natural
progression,” said Tom Janssen, the company’s president.
“We have long-standing relationships with Canadian
companies, built on years of successful collaboration
on their projects in the United States. By extending our
geographic reach with a Canadian team, our clients will
benefit from the integrated environmental and social
expertise provided by our advisors located throughout North
America.”
The Vancouver office will offer the same environmental
consulting services that Merjent has provided to its U.S.
clients since 2004, including environmental permitting,
third-party analysis, planning and feasibility, construction
compliance and operational compliance.
Merjent also provides corporate responsibility and social
performance (CRSP) services with a fast-growing team
of CRSP professionals in the mining and energy sectors:
Laureen Whyte, Jo Render and Caroline Rossignol. The
CRSP team has extensive experience working with U.S.
and Canadian companies of all sizes, both as in-house
staff and external consultants, to advance best practices in
First Nations consultation, stakeholder engagement, social
impact and risk assessment and management.
Merjent opens first Canadian office in Vancouver
© CAN STOCK PHOTO INC. / KWEST19
CONTINUED : EYE ON THE WORLD
© C
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1504pg_12 12 4/6/15 1:45 PM
Hear from handpicked experts on issues facing stakeholders
in the Western Interconnection including:
• The Energy Imbalance Market
• Fuel Diversity
• FERC Order 1000
• Effects of Energy Storage
• Financial Challenges
• And More!
Keynote address presented by:
Mike Beehler, Vice President, Burns & McDonnell
Learn more and register: energyhubforums.com/westforum
May 5-6, 2015 + Grand Hyatt + Denver, Colorado
OWNED & PRODUCED BY: PRESENTED BY:
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April 2015 | 13 www.power-grid.com
© CAN STOCK PHOTO INC. / KWEST19
The high-voltage direct current (HVDC) electric transmission line interconnecting France and Spain will go into commercial operation in June after its current testing period. The news was celebrated Feb. 20 during an inauguration in Montesquieu-des-Albères, France, attended by Spain’s President of the Government Mariano Rajoy and French Prime Minister Manuel Valls.
The 64.5-kilometer-long transmission line marks significant milestones for Spanish grid operator Red Eléctrica de España and French electric grid operator Réseau de Transport d’Électricité. The line is the longest underground interconnection of its kind; the first with a power capacity of 2,000 MW; and the highest power rated (2 GW) and highest voltage (± 320 kV) land HVDC system that uses an extruded cable connection ready for commercial operation. In addition, converter stations in Santa Llogaia, Spain, and Baixas, France—the ends of the line—are unique in the world because of their technology and capability to reverse the direction of the energy exchanges between Spain and France in 50 milliseconds.
The transmission line route runs completely underground through a concrete trench except for a stretch that crosses the Pyrenees. That section passes through an 8.5-kilometer tunnel that runs parallel to a high-speed train line between Barcelona and Perpignan, France.
More than 500 companies were involved in the construction of the transmission line, including Prysmian Group, responsible for manufacturing the cable, and Siemens, which built the converter stations. Tunnel boring through the Pyrenees was carried out by a business consortium led by Eiffage TP and Dragados. The civil
works were performed by another, formed by Ferrovial and Thépault.
The Spain-France line, an investment of 700 million euros, will double the interconnection capacity between Spain and France from 1,400 MW to 2,800 MW and allow a savings of 1 million tons of carbon dioxide annually.
Underground HVDC France-Spain transmission line nears go time
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1504pg_13 13 4/6/15 1:45 PM
14 | April 2015www.power-grid.com
NOTES
Redeemer Child Development Center,
Citizens for a Better South Florida,
Miami River Commission, Martha’s
House, The Arc of Palm Beach County,
Big Dog Ranch, Boca Raton Boys & Girls
Club, CROS Ministries, Forgotten Soldiers
Outreach, Loggerhead Marine Life Center,
MacArthur Beach State Park, Resource
Depot, Schoolhouse Children’s Museum,
South Olive Community Center, Palatka
Water Works Environmental Education
Center, Keep Seminole Beautiful and
Inwater Research Group Beach Clean-up.
FPL is the third-largest electric utility
in the U.S., serving more than 4.7 mil-
lion customer accounts across nearly
half of Florida.
A leading Florida employer with
some 8,700 employees, FPL is a sub-
sidiary of NextEra Energy Inc.
Florida Power & Light Co.’s (FPL’s)
seventh annual Power to Care week
gave employees the opportunity to
make a difference in the communities
FPL serves.
The weeklong event included nearly
1,500 volunteers who donated more
than 5,600 hours to 31 Florida chari-
table organizations.
“At FPL, we not only continue to pro-
vide our customers with safe, reliable
electricity and the lowest residential
bills in the state, we also are commit-
ted to working together with the com-
munities we serve to make Florida an
even better place to raise a family and
do business,” said Pamela Rauch, vice
president of development and external
affairs for FPL.
“Volunteering is at the heart of our
business, so any chance we get to roll
up our sleeves and lend a helping hand
to these organizations that unselfishly
serve our communities is a great day for
FPL and our employees,” she said.
Power to Care spanned 13 counties
and included participation from all lev-
els of the company, including NextEra
Energy Chairman and CEO Jim Robo and
FPL President and CEO Eric Silagy.
This year’s Power to Care events includ-
ed projects in Brevard, Broward, Flagler,
Hendry, Lee, Manatee, Martin, Miami-
Dade, Palm Beach, Putnam, Okeechobee,
Seminole and St. Lucie counties.
Volunteers helped at food banks,
schools, parks and more: Barron Park
House, Lake Park Elementary School,
Sweetwater Elementary School, Flagler
County Department of Juvenile Justice
Community Garden, Broward Audubon
Society, Brevard County Meals on
Wheels, Feeding South Florida,
Broward Addiction Recovery Center,
Habitat for Humanity, Manatee Park,
Manatee County Women’s Resource
Center, PACE Center for Girls, Treasure
Coast Food Bank/United Way of Martin
County, Catholic Charities–Holy
FPL VOLUNTEERS SPRUCE UP 31 COMMUNITY PROJECTS IN FLORIDA
Florida Power & Light Co. (FPL) volunteers descend on Sweetwater Elementary School in Miami on Wednesday, March 4. The volunteers
helped with landscaping, facility cleanup and painting, as well as reading to children and building an outdoor classroom. The project
was part of FPL’s Power to Care week, during which nearly 1,500 FPL volunteers participated in more than 30 projects around the
state. Photo by David Adame for FPL.
Carrie Rampersad and her daughter, Mia Rampersad, walk a dog
at Big Dog Rescue Ranch in Wellington on Saturday, March 7 as
part of Florida Power & Light Co.’s (FPL’s) weeklong Power to
Care volunteer initiative. Photo by Joe Skipper for FPL.
1504pg_14 14 4/6/15 1:45 PM
April 2015 | 15 www.power-grid.com
NextEra Energy Inc. has been named a
2015 World’s Most Ethical Company by
the Ethisphere Institute, an independent
center of research promoting best practices
in corporate ethics and governance.
It is the eighth time NextEra Energy
has received this recognition. This year,
only 132 companies across more than 50
industries worldwide were selected for the
honor. NextEra Energy was one of only
five energy and electric utility companies
named to the list.
“For our nearly 14,000 employees, our
core values are core business,” said Jim
Robo, chairman and CEO of NextEra
Energy. “As the world’s largest generator of
renewable energy from the wind and sun,
we believe that high ethical standards, a
culture of innovation and how we support
the communities we serve is a competi-
tive advantage that differentiates NextEra
Energy from many others. We are again
very honored to be named to this list of
prestigious, global leaders.”
The World’s Most Ethical Company
assessment is based upon the Ethisphere
Institute’s Ethics Quotient framework.
The Ethics Quotient framework has
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) in
March filed a proposal with the California
Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to
provide rebates to customers who charge
their electric vehicles at home or fuel
natural gas vehicles at PG&E-owned com-
pressed natural gas fueling stations. If the
CPUC approves, PG&E could begin issu-
ing rebates in the second half of 2016.
Funding for the rebates will come from
PG&E’s sale of credits that it receives under
California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard
been developed over years
of effort to provide a way
to assess an organization’s
performance in an objective, consistent
and standardized way.
In considering companies for this list,
the Ethisphere Institute evaluated NextEra
Energy’s strategies and results in five key
categories:
• Ethics and compliance;
• Culture of ethics;
• Leadership, innovation and reputa-
tion;
• Corporate citizenship and respon-
sibility; and
• Governance.
The Ethisphere Institute’s recognition is
the latest in a series of achievements for
NextEra Energy, including:
• Fortune’s “World’s Most Admired
Companies.” In February, NextEra
Energy was ranked among the top
10 companies in the world in inno-
vativeness and top 10 in commu-
nity responsibility in Fortune’s 2015
“World’s Most Admired Companies”
evaluation. In that same ranking,
(LCFS) program, not from customer rates.
Estimated rebate amounts will be provided
by PG&E to the CPUC in September.
For PG&E customers who own or lease
an electric vehicle, PG&E proposes a one-
time rebate for each vehicle. A single cus-
tomer can receive multiple rebates if he or
she owns several electric vehicles.
For customers who fuel their cars at one
of PG&E’s compressed natural gas fueling
stations, the utility will provide an annual
credit on their compressed natural gas fuel
NextEra Energy also was recognized
in the electric and gas utility sector as:
No. 1 in social responsibility; No. 1
in innovation; and No. 1 in quality of
products and services.
• Delivery of outstanding value to
utility customers. The company’s
rate-regulated electric utility, Florida
Power & Light Co., continues to
deliver on its outstanding customer
value proposition, which includes
99.98 percent reliability, award-win-
ning customer service, one of the
nation’s cleanest emissions profiles
and a typical residential customer bill
that for the past five years was the
lowest in Florida and is some 25 per-
cent lower than the national average.
• Becoming the world’s largest gen-
erator of renewable energy from
the wind and sun. The compa-
ny’s competitive generation subsid-
iary, NextEra Energy Resources LLC,
together with its affiliated entities, is
the world’s largest generator of renew-
able energy from the wind and sun.
bill, based on their fuel usage.
The LCFS program, administered by
California’s Air Resources Board, aims to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions from
transportation fuels. Companies such as
PG&E receive credits on behalf of their
customers for dispensing fuels—such as
electricity or natural gas—with lower car-
bon intensities than the conventional gaso-
line or diesel fuels they replace. The credits
can be sold in the market to entities that
need them for compliance purposes.
NEXTERA ENERGY ON WORLD’S MOST ETHICAL COMPANIES LIST FOR 8TH TIME
PG&E CUSTOMERS WITH NATURAL GAS, ELECTRIC VEHICLES COULD GET 2016 REBATES
1504pg_15 15 4/6/15 1:45 PM
16 | April 2015www.power-grid.com
NOTES
is important to these consumers,
the opportunity to save even more
is sure to be appealing.
The research was conducted in
late 2014 and surveyed nearly 3,000
Americans representative of U.S. demo-
graphics in regulated and competitive
utility markets.
Nearly all U.S. consumers are familiar
with energy-efficient products such as
lightbulbs, appliances and heating and
cooling equipment, but only about half
of Americans are aware of the additional
savings that can accompany their pur-
chases of these products, according to
new shopper research from Blackhawk
Engagement Solutions.
The survey asked 2,870 Americans
about their awareness of and reasons
for choosing energy-efficient products
and services.
“Utility companies and retailers should
place a larger focus on educating consum-
ers on the many incentives and rebates
available on energy-efficient products,”
said Rodney Mason, global vice president
of marketing with Blackhawk Engagement
Solutions. “Although consumers feel good
about doing the right thing for the planet,
today’s shopper is most highly motivated
by price and value. The more consumers
understand the many ways to save money
by purchasing efficient products, the big-
ger the opportunity for increased sales
and adoption.”
Key findings include:
• Consumers know that energy-effi-
cient products are available. Ninety-
three percent of shoppers are familiar
with LED and CFL lightbulbs and 84
percent are familiar with the govern-
ment-backed Energy Star label.
• Cost savings is the biggest purchase
influencer. The top reason consumers
have purchased or would purchase
an energy-efficient product is because
they are interested in long-term sav-
ings (81 percent). A significant but
smaller percentage reported that the
top reason is that saving energy is
important to them (71 percent).
• Awareness of energy efficiency
incentives is lacking. Although
more than 4 out of 5 shoppers
know about the available prod-
ucts, 53 percent of them are not
aware of the additional savings that
can accompany their purchases.
Because saving money and energy
BLACKHAWK ENGAGEMENT SOLUTIONS: AMERICANS AWARE OF ENERGY-EFFICIENT PRODUCTS, NEED MORE INFO ON INCENTIVES FOR BUYING
WHY HAVE YOU OR WOULD YOU PURCHASE AN ENER GY-EFFICIENT PRODUCT?SELE CT ALL THAT APPLY.
I am inter ested in long-term savings on my ener gy bill 80%
Saving energy is important to me 71%
They are bett er for the envir onment 49%
They are quieter 24%
They work bett er 24%
Buying them boosts the economy 22%
They make my home more comfortable 20%
ARE YOU AWARE OF REBATES OR INCENTIVES
FOR PURCHASING ENER GY-EFFICIENT PRODUCTS?
53% NO 47% YES
IF YES, WHERE OR HOW DID YOU
BECOME AWARE OF THESE REBATES OR INCENTIVES?SELE CT ALL THAT APPLY.
42% THE STORE WHERE I
38% TV, RADIO OR
36% MAIL, EMAIL OR BILL
25% MY UTILITY’S
SHOP FOR APPLIANCES NEWSPAPER ADS MESSAGES FROM MY UTILITY WEBSITE
17% NEWS STORIES
16% RETAILER
WEBSITES
14% ONLINE
ADVERTISEMENTS
12% FRIEND OR
NEIGHBOR
9% CONTRACTOR OR
INSTALLATION COMPANY
1504pg_16 16 4/6/15 1:45 PM
Introducing POWER-GEN Natural Gas, an
annual conference and exhibition targeting
gas-fred generation related to the development
of natural gas reserves in the Marcellus and
Utica shales of the Appalachian Basin.
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the issues surrounding technology, operation,
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Preliminary Conference Tracks to Include:
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1504pg_17 17 4/6/15 1:45 PM
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Smart Electricity Distribution in Germany
BY BRITTA BUCHHOLZ, ABB
Despite that the German electricity distribu-
tion system has high reserve capacities and
can host additional generation, integrating renew-
ables is limited by the need to maintain voltage
levels within a tightly defined range.
Fluctuations in wind speed and cloud cover
challenge grid operators and generators alike. And
with millions of small and fluctuating generators’
feeding into distribution grids below 132 kV, there
is a growing need to look for new technological
solutions to enable distribution systems to cope.
The capacity of distribution feeders depends on
the grid codes and the distribution system opera-
tor’s (DSO’s) operational regime. Capacity can be
limited by factors such as the feeders’ thermal rat-
ing, voltage regulation, fault levels, power quality,
reversal power flow, island operation and protec-
tion schemes.
The convention-
al ways to boost
capacity are to perform grid
enhancements, change the
topology of the grid or new
installations. Alternatively,
voltage regulation and reac-
tive power compensation,
energy storage or intelligent
solutions such as wide-area
control, load management,
control of generators and
other solutions can ease the
load on the network.
In Germany, voltage
levels limit capacity of
most grids, especially
in a system where
many renewable ener-
gy generators operate.
1504pg_18 18 4/6/15 2:03 PM
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SCREEN SHOT FROM NEPLAN SOFTWARE
April 2015 | 19 www.power-grid.com
LEGISLATION
Germany’s legislation is catching up
with the growth of distributed renew-
ables. Operators of generators connect-
ed to the medium-voltage grid must
comply with technical guidelines from
the German Association of Energy and
Water Industries (BDEW). Generators
connected to the low-voltage grid must
comply with the VDE network connec-
tion regulation, VDE-AR-N 4105.
Plus, the German Renewable Energy
Act of 2012 requires solar photovoltaic
(PV) generators with capacity greater
than 30 kW to participate in the DSO’s
feed-in management, enabling the DSO
to reduce active power.
At the European level, a new set of
network codes has been prepared by
the European Network of Transmission
System Operators for Electricity
(ENTSO-E) and is in the process of
being ratified as European law.
Last, the very high penetration of dis-
tributed and renewable energy resourc-
es will require a new system approach
for the whole energy system over all
voltage levels, according to the German
Energy Agency’s “Ancillary Services
Study 2030.”
Recognizing that the landscape is
changing and no single solution exists
to help operators maximize capacity,
ABB has carried out pilot projects in
cooperation with DSOs and academic
partners.
HANDLING INCREASING
COMPLEXITY
In the past when centralized power
stations fed electricity out through
transmission and distribution networks
from high voltage down to low voltage,
it was simple to calculate load flows
and voltage levels. But today’s picture is
more complex with distributed renew-
ables and loads connected at the same
levels, leading to challenging consump-
tion and production scenarios associ-
ated with voltage drops and rises.
Software tools are becoming increas-
ingly important to determine whether a
generator can be connected to the grid
without violating its limits. These tools
enable engineers to create computer
models of the network to be mapped,
taking account of feeders, loads and
generators. The result is a visual rep-
resentation of the grid that can be
analysed to identify areas where voltage
is outside the desired operating range.
One such tool is Neplan software,
which has a module to enable a DSO’s
planning function to react quickly to
customer requests to connect their gen-
erators to the grid. By simulating the
impact of a new generator, the DSO
quickly can evaluate the impact on the
grid and react to the customer’s request.
The figure above shows a 400-V
grid with a substation in the upper
left corner. Green shading indicates
the voltage is within the allowed rat-
ing (within 10 percent of 400 V), but
red indicates the voltage is outside this
window. Typically, the red areas show
a mismatch between production and
consumption. This means either there is
high infeed from distributed renewables
together with low load or there are areas
with no renewables and high load.
ACTIVE VOLTAGE REGULATION
IN RHINELAND
In 2011, ABB installed a PCS100
AVR (active voltage regulator) on RWE
Deutschland’s grid. The project dem-
onstrated that the power electronic
AVR could stabilize voltage levels in
the 20-kV network and at 20-kV/0.4-
kV transformer stations. The result
was increased grid capacity to host
Britta Buchholz is head of ABB’s power
consulting business in Germany.
1504pg_19 19 4/6/15 2:03 PM
20 | April 2015www.power-grid.com
FIONA, the unit eliminates voltage mea-
surement at the 20-kV side of a 20/0.4-
kV transformer station and substitutes
it using values calculated from measure-
ments taken on the 400-V side. This
gives accurate voltage readings while
avoiding the installation of an expensive
voltage transformer on the 20-kV side.
In addition, a PCS100 AVR ensures
that the low-voltage grid is maintained
within the allowed bandwidth.
The project also integrated advanced
communication and predictive opera-
tion features, which predicted conges-
tion on the 20-kV level. The DSO can
then use a change of grid topology or a
method of demand response to mitigate
congestion.
SMART PLANNING
Only a few operators know when their
grids will reach their operating limits
as they know the date, size and type of
requests for new connections
in advance. One impact of
Germany’s Renewable Energy
Act has been that grid opera-
tors have received many
requests for new connections
with a short response time.
To overcome this, ABB has
developed a smart planning
approach that uses a step-
by-step approach to help
DSOs. After classifying where
the voltage might reach its
limit, voltage is measured or
derived using a grid calcula-
tion. By observing the volt-
age level, a DSO will be able
to act to extend the second-
ary substation, potentially
with a voltage regulator or
voltage-controlled distribu-
tion transformer.
MONITORING, CONTROL
IN BAVARIA
In Bavaria, the region’s high pen-
etration of renewable energy generators
put pressure on the capacity of grid
infrastructure on the network operated
by Netze BW
and EnBW
ODR. During the
RiesLing project
ABB developed a
new set of solu-
tions to optimize
assets and further
embed voltage
regulation.
The first of
these is a remote
monitoring and
control unit for
intelligent sec-
ondary substa-
tions. Called
distributed generation, which led to
cost savings as a result of investment
postponement. Between 2010 and
2013, ABB then installed 10 PCS100
AVRs on DSO networks at 20-kV/0.4-
kV transformer stations.
After analyzing these units, ABB
concluded that distribution networks
require a less demanding level of active
voltage regulation than critical industrial
applications. Instead of using a power
electronic converter as the variable volt-
age source for voltage regulation, DSOs
can opt for a version using mechani-
cal switches. The line voltage regulator
(LVR) for low-voltage or medium-volt-
age grids can be placed anywhere along
a radial line in the grid. An MV-LVR
installation is in operation at Westnetz
in the Eifel.
A complementary solution is to use
regulated distribution transformers to
increase the flexibility between medium-
voltage and low-voltage levels, which
led ABB to develop the Smart-R Trafo, a
distribution transformer with a five-step
on-load tap changer to provide adequate
power quality for distribution grids.
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Whether it’s during a coastal
hurricane or blue skies, knowing
about outages before customers call can
dictate whether utilities achieve top
performance in customer satisfaction,
restoration speed and restoration cost.
Knowing about outages before
customers call is one of the key
desired outcomes of utility outage and
restoration management (ORM) efforts.
Feeding outage notifications from smart
meters to the outage management
Your Smart Meters Say the Power is out;ARE THEY LYING?
BY FORREST SMALL, BRIDGE ENERGY GROUP
Forrest Small is vice president of grid reliability for Bridge Energy Group. He leads the company’s grid
reliability practice, focusing on outage and restoration management, voltage and VAR optimization,
and transmission grid operations. He is an expert in advanced power delivery technologies and
smart grid applications with 22 years of combined experience in management consulting and grid
planning and operations at an electric utility. He has master’s degrees in electrical engineering and
business administration and is a licensed professional engineer in Maine.
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system (OMS) shows promise, but
false positives can cause unintended
headaches for utilities. Utilities such
as BC Hydro are leveraging these
technologies for outage and restoration
notification, but in a much smarter way.
INTELLIGENT FILTERING FOR AMI-
OMS INTEGRATION
In 2011, BC Hydro began imple-
mentation of its Smart Metering &
Infrastructure (SMI) Program that even-
tually would lead to a full deployment
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22 | April 2015www.power-grid.com
between the secondary and the meter
that can be operated by the building
owner. If the building owner opens the
cold-style switch, the meter loses power
and sends a power-off notification. In
such a case, the PON does not indicate
a problem with the utility supply and
should be filtered.
In addition to enhanced filtering logic
to eliminate unwanted outage mes-
sages, the solution requires a second
piece called the pinger.
The pinger checks the operational
status of meters upon request. This
helps customer service representatives
check power-on or power-off status of
a meter to determine if the outage is on
the utility or customer side.
This capability can help customer
service diagnose a customer problem
before rolling a truck to the customer’s
location (see Figure 1).
IMPLEMENTING INTELLIGENT
FILTERING AT BC HYDRO
In the case of BC Hydro, the first step
was to figure out where
the filtering should be
done based on the con-
figuration of the utility’s
technology.
Filtering could be done
in three places. After test-
ing several options, the
utility worked with and
leveraged Bridge Energy
Group’s related experi-
ence to develop an intel-
ligent filtering algorithm
as middleware that would filter out false
positives.
BC Hydro uses the TIBCO enterprise
service bus for integration between its
information technology systems.
The team leveraged the business
of more than 1.8 million smart meters
installed across BC Hydro’s urban and
rural service territories.
This program was designed to provide
benefits including the ability to notify the
utility when a customer loses power and
when power is restored.
Like many utilities that implement
advanced metering infrastructure (AMI),
BC Hydro wanted to use the outage mes-
sages from smart meters to:
1. Know when customers lose power;
2. Reduce the time it takes to learn
about outages; and
3. Help the utility understand the scope
of outages more quickly without hav-
ing to wait until customers call.
Feeding power outage notifications
(PONs) from smart meters into the OMS
provides a better picture of the outage
scope more quickly.
Unfortunately, a simple integration
between the meter head-end system
and the OMS can lead to false positive
PONs, which can obscure real outage
information. When this occurs, operators
can’t make good use of new outage infor-
mation and the utility cannot achieve the
operational efficiency it desires. A more
intelligent filter often is required to provide
actionable data points.
FILTERING OUTAGE
MESSAGES
The purpose of the filter
is to collect messages from
the AMI head-end system,
filter those messages and
then pass on validated out-
ages to the OMS. Filtering
occurs in three stages:
• Stage one: eliminates
duplicate power-off
notifications;
• Stage two: filters momentary inter-
ruptions, such as those caused by
reclosers; and
• Stage three: filters messages from
“cold-style” meters.
Cold-style meters include a switch
In the case of BC Hydro, the frst step was to fgure out where the fltering should be done based on the confguration of the utility’s technology.
OVERVIEW OF INTELLIGENT FILTERING AND PINGING SOLUTION
1
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Go to pgi.hotims.com for more information.
April 2015 | 23 www.power-grid.com
A VISION FOR ORM
No matter whether a utility is focused
on smart metering and AMI as at BC
Hydro or implementing advanced distri-
bution management systems (DMS), there
are five key desired outcomes that most
utilities are looking to achieve when they
While the solution was implemented
using the typical ESB and a power-on
OMS, the filtering logic and pinger
principles used here can be implement-
ed in any environment.
All that is required is a platform in
which to build the filtering logic.
events capability in the TIBCO ESB to
build the intelligent filtering algorithm.
The intelligent filter then incorporated
the capabilities of all three filtering
points (see Figure 2).
INITIAL RESULTS
The solution was completed and imple-
mented in 2014. Initial results show that
the filter is eliminating 70 to 80 percent of
unwanted outage messages coming from
the head-end system.
The remaining outage messages can be
passed on to the OMS.
At this time the outage messages are
being queued in the OMS and manually
accepted by operators.
BC Hydro plans to enable the auto-
matic generation of outages in the OMS
using the outage messages from the filter.
FILTERING POINTS FOR SMI OUTAGE MESSAGES 2
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24 | April 2015www.power-grid.com
restoration (ETRs) for all outages.
Accurate ETRs are one of several types
of information that can provide value to
customers during a power outage. Power
quality and reliability are key drivers of
overall customer satisfaction, but the
weakest area of performance is keeping
customers informed about outages,
according to J.D. Power.
Regardless where a utility falls on
the continuum, outage and restoration
management is complex. From the time
the power goes out to the time power
dramatic improvement in this area.
Dispatch the right crews to the right
location with the right
equipment to make the
repair. Coordinating OMS
with technologies such as
automatic vehicle loca-
tion, work management
systems and other mobile
technologies are key lever-
age points here.
Provide accurate
estimated time to
think about ORM.
Know about outages before custom-
ers call. This is addressed most often with
smart metering and AMI, where these
technologies are used for outage and res-
toration notification; however, there will
continue to be ways to apply other sen-
sors and communications technologies to
identify power outages more quickly and
accurately.
Diagnose and isolate outages to
affect fewer customers. An OMS is a
primary tool for this, along
with supervisory con-
trol and data acquisition.
Increasingly, advanced
DMS are being imple-
mented along with distri-
bution automation in the
field. Capabilities such as
fault location isolation and
service restoration (FLISR)
promises to support a
Improving operational performance starts with applying technology at key points along end-to-end outage mangement.
ORM VISION FOR LEADING UTILITIES 3
ORM TECHNOLOGIES APPLIED TO REDUCE OUTAGE TIME
4
1504pg_24 24 4/6/15 2:04 PM
leidos.com/activate
Access domain knowledge.
Leverage data science.
Leidos is transcending commoditized engineering with solutions that combine expertise in system planning; transmission, substation, and distribution engineering; protection and control; information technology; and data science. We help utilities use data to optimize system design, improve reliability indicators, and enhance shareholder value.
Activate Tomorrow, Today.
Go to pgi.hotims.com for more information.
Shorter Outages
• Faster Notification, More Precise Location• Improved Reliability Statistics• Few Outage Minutes for Customers
Lower Restoration Costs
• Few Truck Rolls for Problems Behind the Meter• Fewer Return Trips for Nested Outages• Optimized Restoration Resources
Higher Customer
Satisfaction
• Better Outage Information (ETRs)• Better Responsiveness to Inquiries• Less Disruption, Anxiety From Outages
MEASUREABLE BENEFITS FROM BETTER ORM 5
April 2015 | 25 www.power-grid.com
directly to a monetized business case
benefit. These are relatively easier to
determine. By contrast, the strength
of the business case for improving
reliability statistics or providing better
outage information depends on how
the utility and regulator can reach
agreement on recognizing and paying
for improved performance.
Utilities must get specific about what
types of improvements they want to
make and then track performance
with metrics that align with those
improvements. For utilities such as BC
Hydro, eliminating 70 to 80 percent
of unwanted outage messages yields
shorter outages, lower restoration costs
and higher customer satisfaction. That’s
a meaningful return for the utility and
its customers.
benefits for utilities and consequently
their customers (see Figure 5).
Achieving business case benefits
depends on how well the utility can
isolate the mechanisms that technology
and process changes support and how
well the change—benefit—can be
valued or monetized. For example,
reducing the number of truck rolls or
optimizing resources can be translated
is restored, numerous business processes
and enabling technologies are involved.
Improving operational performance starts
with applying technology at key points
along the end-to-end outage management
process (see Figure 4).
TARGETING
MEASURABLE BENEFITS
Each outcome produces measurable
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Helping the Utility Industry, Industrial Sector Accommodate Renewable Energy
BY ROB DAY, BLACK CORAL CAPITAL, AND KEVIN KLUSTNER, POWERIT SOLUTIONS
a profound impact on the utility indus-
try’s financial future and could precipi-
tate a structural crisis in energy supply.
As grid maintenance costs go up and
the cost of renewable energy moves
down, more industrial customers
might feel compelled to leave the grid,
pushing grid costs even higher for the
remaining customers who might then
leave the grid, too.
Despite this scenario, industrial cus-
tomers can become an important asset
to utilities that need to maintain a bal-
anced grid.
Why? Because the industrial sector’s
variable loads can be controlled within
limits, but with some flexibility.
For a long time, industrial com-
panies have represented a highly
variable and difficult to manage set of
customers for utilities.
Industrial plants and facilities can
have big shifts in loads, and, as a result,
utilities always must keep capacity read-
ily available.
That’s why this business relationship and
pricing model traditionally has involved
relatively low costs on a per-kilowatt-hour
basis, plus additional capacity charges.
The connections between the industrial
sector and the utility industry will become
increasingly complex and variable.
There’s a shift toward more vari-
able load-based processes today; but as
significant, many industrial customers
are embracing renewable energy sourc-
es often by deploying solar installations
on facility rooftops. Solar is variable.
Another issue is the growing desire
of many industrial companies to leave
the grid to become more energy self-
sufficient.
Sixteen percent of German companies
are energy self-sufficient—a 50 percent
increase from a year ago, according to
The Wall Street Journal. Another 23
percent of businesses say they plan to
become energy self-sufficient soon.
The industrial sector’s burgeoning
desire for energy independence, plus its
adoption of renewable energy, is having
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April 2015 | 27 www.power-grid.com
balancing capability. When the renew-
able supply drops, the load can be
turned down. This can be less expensive
than running standby peaking plants or
investing in distributed storage.
Looking at this in another way, the
technology makes solar less challenging
(and even potentially a big positive) for
utilities by providing stability and bal-
ancing the local grid.
On a more micro level,
software such as this
can help a facility bal-
ance local generation and
local demand within the
plant. By monitoring the
draw from the utility and
managing the associated
expense, the facility can
take advantage of renew-
able resources while
managing its traditional energy use to
the lowest cost. Also, a facility can use
automated demand response programs
to bid its load flexibility into the grid
and use local generation to offset that
impact on its operation.
Sophisticated technology that’s
affordable and easy to deploy will help
determine our ability to efficiently
and effectively balance energy supply
and demand. And if they’re integrated
thoughtfully, these solutions also can be
instrumental in helping the industrial
sector and utility business achieve criti-
cal business objectives.
All of this requires a demand-side
controls system that can be:
• Cost-effectively deployed;
• Deployed across a broad range of
commercial and industrial facilities;
and
• Integrated into utility transmission
and distribution controls.
Once demand-side controls systems like
this are in place, utilities
might need to reconsider
their pricing tariffs. When
dealing with industrial
customers, for example,
it might make sense to
drop the per-kilowatt-hour
charge further while raising
the capacity charge. This
would incentivize indus-
trial customers to get more
actively involved in demand response and
ancillary services.
In the meantime, utilities should focus
incentives programs so they encourage
as many industrial customers as possible
to adopt intelligent load control systems.
That way, plants and facilities will be
assets-in-waiting when the utility-side eco-
nomics and information technology sys-
tems are in place to use them.
The industrial sector and utility industry
must find new ways to deal with the inter-
mittency and lack of predictability that
renewable energy sources present.
To account for this solely on the supply
side, many utilities might have to rely on
standby peaking natural gas plants that
idle or invest in grid-level storage to dis-
charge stored energy when the renewable
supply dips.
But by enabling quick-notice demand
response, a technology solution like
Powerit’s Spara allows demand-side
load reductions to provide the grid with
And, if load control can be deployed
when it’s needed—not just for general
demand response during peak demand
but also in response to solar generating
conditions—two things can be
accomplished:
• An individual facility’s demand can
be controlled and shifted in con-
junction with solar (and eventu-
ally on-site storage) so demand
becomes more consistent; and
• Even more aggressive management
in response to overall system
conditions could mean that the
facility isn’t just increasingly stable
by itself but that it’s stabilizing
the broader grid. In other words,
as passing clouds temporarily
reduce residential rooftop solar
generation, a factory half a mile
away could reduce its own demand
accordingly.
Rob Day is a partner with Boston-based
Black Coral Capital. He has been a clean
tech private equity investor since 2004 and
acts or has served as a director, observer and
advisory board member to companies in the
energy tech and related sectors.
Kevin Klustner is CEO of Powerit Solutions, a
Seattle-based international clean technology
company involved in demand management.
The industrial sector and utility industry must fnd new ways to deal with intermittency and lack of predictability.
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Bridging the DisconnectBetween Utilities, Self-generators
BY TERESA HANSEN, EDITOR IN CHIEF
Institute (RMI), a leading independent,
nonprofit think and do tank focused on
energy efficiency and renewable energy,
recently completed two analyses to help
determine if and when solar plus stor-
age will reach economic parity with
grid-supplied electricity.
The first analysis, released in February
2014, considered solar plus storage sys-
tems that are robust enough to allow
customers to defect completely from the
grid. The second analysis, just released,
considered grid-connected solar plus
storage systems, which typically are
The electricity industry is trans-
forming at a pace that most in
the industry would not have imag-
ined a few years ago. The combi-
nation of energy policy, technology
advancement, customers’ expectations
for cleaner and more reliable electricity
and other initiatives have created a
new force: distributed energy resources
(DER), specifically solar photovoltaic
(PV) generation.
As solar PV technology prices drop,
the rate at which commercial and
residential customers install it climbs.
Battery storage—also dropping in
price—adds to solar’s appeal. Solar plus
storage allows consumers to become
more self-reliant with their electricity
when the sun doesn’t shine, allowing
them to disconnect completely from
the grid and their utilities. Most likely,
customers who install solar PV plus
storage will remain connected to the
grid, but their utilities eventually will
become their electricity backup.
Increasing adoption of solar plus
storage will have a profound impact on
utilities and regulators. Rocky Mountain
Source: Rocky Mountain Institute, “The Economics of Grid Defection” February 2014.
OFF-GRID VS. UTILITYPRICE PROJECTIONS
1
Source: Rocky Mountain Institute, “The Economics of Grid Defection” February 2014.
OFF-GRID VS. UTILITYPRICE PROJECTIONS
2
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April 2015 | 29 www.power-grid.com
frameworks to turn what could be a
threat to utilities’ survival into an oppor-
tunity to add value for utilities and their
customers?
THE ECONOMICS
OF LOAD DEFECTION
The follow-up analysis by RMI and
HOMER Energy released this month
considered when grid parity would
occur if commercial and residential cus-
tomers remain grid-connected. Unlike
defecting from the grid entirely, remain-
ing grid-connected would allow cus-
tomers to buy more optimally sized,
less expensive solar plus
battery systems, which
would be more econom-
ic for more customers
sooner.
The latter RMI analy-
sis, “The Economics of
Load Defection,” reveals
that customers’ perspec-
tive of the economically optimal system
configuration evolves from grid-only in
the near term, to grid plus solar, to grid
plus solar plus storage in the longer
term.
“The analyses we used for each geo-
graphical area was pretty straightfor-
ward,” said Leia Guccione, a manager
within RMI’s electricity and industry
practice. “As a starting point, we used
assumptions similar to those we used in
the earlier analysis for electricity price
forecasts, region-specific customer load
profiles, etc. We held rate structures
and certain other variables constant in
HOMER Energy’s modeling software.
“The one finding that surprised us
most was that parity for solar plus
storage happens much sooner when
customers remain connected to
high penetrations of renewable energy.
The analysis focused on five repre-
sentative U.S. geographies—New York,
Kentucky, Texas, California and Hawaii—
that cover a range of solar resource poten-
tial, retail utility electricity prices and solar
PV penetration rates.
The modeled scenarios RMI used to
determine projected electricity rates in
each area, as well as the accepted cost
forecast of solar and battery storage, are
detailed in the analysis.
“We forecast future electricity rates
based on recent historical trends of rising
retail prices, and considered forecasts for
needed grid investment,”
Mandel said. “We looked
at the most credible infor-
mation we could find on
the projected costs of solar
and storage and averaged
those to forecast the cost
of solar plus storage. We
believe the forecasts we
used are conservative, especially the stor-
age pricing. In fact, recent data points
suggest that cost declines are exceeding
our forecasts.”
Figures 1 and 2 summarize the find-
ings. Commercial customers will experi-
ence grid parity sooner than residential,
and some geographic areas will reach
grid parity sooner. For some custom-
ers in Hawaii, grid parity has arrived.
Customers in New York and California
may expect parity likely before 2030
and possibly as early as 2020.
“Because grid parity arrives within
the 30-year economic life of typical util-
ity power assets, it foretells the eventual
demise of traditional utility business
models,” the analysis states.
The prediction raises the ques-
tion: How will utilities and regulators
adjust business models and regulatory
smaller and less expensive than systems
that allow complete grid defection.
Both analyses indicate that in some
U.S. regions, grid parity will occur in
the next decade, and it will occur in the
entire U.S. by 2050.
“We were not advocating for defection
from the grid when we conducted these
analyses,” said James Mandel, a principal at
RMI and one of the studies’ authors. “We
wanted to put a timeline on when utilities
and regulators need to have a plan to work
with these distributed energy resources.”
Utilities must adjust their business mod-
els or adopt new ones to take advantage
of and maximize the value and benefits
that solar plus storage can give utilities and
their customers, Mandel said.
“These distributed resources, used in
concert with the grid, should mean lower
costs to the utility and all customers,” he
said. “We understand that there are reasons
for concern and that it (DER integration)
won’t be easy, but customers are going to
install solar plus storage whether utilities
and regulators are ready or not.”
THE ECONOMICS
OF GRID DEFECTION
RMI’s first analysis on solar plus stor-
age, “The Economics of Grid Defection,”
considers the economics of custom-
ers’ disconnecting completely from
the grid. RMI chose solar plus storage
technologies because they are “increas-
ingly cost-effective, relatively mature,
commercially available today and can
operate independent of the grid.” This
combination threatens utilities’ sales
and revenues most, the analysis states.
RMI worked with renewable energy con-
sulting firm CohnReznick Think Energy
LLC and HOMER Energy LLC, a provider
of software, consulting and market analysis
services for power systems that incorporate
Grid parity for solar plus storage happens much sooner when customers remain grid-connected.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 34
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Doing the Right Thing While Doing Things Right—How to Improve Electric Utility Customer Satisfaction and Drive Productivity
BY JAMES DELANDE, CLICKSOFTWARE
lights were installed on the same
date and are past their projected lifes-
pans—and could be replaced effi-
ciently while you are on-site.)
5. What if consumers could receive pro-
active updates on their appointments
via the communication channel of
their choice (phone, text, email)?
Superior customer experience can make
a utility’s service organization stand out
to regulators, retain valuable customers
and contribute top line revenue to share-
holders. To accomplish this, you need to
do the right thing while doing things right.
The former affects satisfaction, and the lat-
ter affects productivity and efficiency.
Yet, the concept and execution of these
goals can differ. Companies with good
intentions often find that daily business
demands take precedence where fighting
operational fires takes their eyes off the
vaunted goal of improving service, proac-
tively maintaining infrastructure and driv-
ing customer satisfaction. One can succeed
at one part of that equation—doing things
right—but miss out on much of the benefit
that should have been gained if one had
failed to do the right thing.
In this case, doing the right thing could
be the activities that led up to, or occurred
just after, the successful service call when
customer expectations and their provider’s
delivery didn’t match. Whether it was the
lack of sufficient customer choice for when
a service call was requested or failure to
update an ETA of a scheduled customer
call during the day of service, falling short
of customers’ expectations can have long-
term negative implications.
Much like technology that has become
common—from digital calendar remind-
ers to automated bill payments—putting
a little effort into planning and deploying
a technology-driven service solution pro-
vides a significant return on investment
in a short time. These returns include:
enhanced regulatory compliance, lower
cost to serve, decreased restoration time
and cost, streamlined outage management,
and, most important, improved customer
satisfaction scores and the impact on rates
and profitablity.
Consider the following scenarios:
1. What if you could provide shorter
appointment windows for customers
with the same staffing level and skill?
2. What if you also could accomplish
the shorter appointment
window with fewer
missed appointments
and service-level
agreements (SLAs)?
3. What if your infra-
structure could lever-
age M2M notifications to
schedule automatically a techni-
cian to repair it with the correct
level of severity?
4. What if you could leverage the
M2M notification to sched-
ule similar proactive repairs
to adjoining equipment based
on expected product life cycle
data? (For example, you receive
an automated notice regarding
a burned-out street lamp on
Smith Street, and the system
determines that two adjoining
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to access back-office documentation
and schematics; and
• Automated alerts that inform custom-
ers about the status of their appoint-
ments if the originally scheduled
appointment window is in jeopardy.
Implementing a software solution,
however, can go only so far. There must
be a unilateral commit-
ment from the top down
and the bottom up to
meet customer service
and service productivity
goals.
Service organizations
that have embraced the
change management
processes in addition to a technology
implementation can increase productiv-
ity 30 percent on average while increas-
ing customer satisfaction.
When implemented correctly—
often with incentives for exceptional
service—customers win because their
work is done correctly, on time and
in acceptable appointment windows.
Staff have access to all resources to
do their jobs effectively, with less time
spent in traffic or filling out paperwork.
Customers come away happier feeling
that the organization cares about them.
Happy customers facilitate rate dis-
cussions with regulators. Satisfied tech-
nicians reduce the expense of employee
churn and enable knowledge sharing
across the organization. This leads to
improved financial performance and
happier shareholders.
When an organization has the
strategy, tools and solution to be on
the right side of the service equation,
everyone wins.
planning capabilities to ensure proper
work force coverage for your expected
demand, including the ability to run
“what-if” scenarios for emergencies.
Individual business user-defined, real-
time performance measurements—cou-
pled with predictive and prescriptive ana-
lytics—are required to identify opportuni-
ties to ensure continuous
improvement.
Automating schedul-
ing. Shift management to
optimize employees’ avail-
ability to fit demand during
the day of service, including
contractual obligations and
safety policies.
• Scheduling and dispatch that assigns
the right people to the right place, at
the right moment, for every customer
or task;
• A scheduling algorithm that can han-
dle in-day anomalies from cancelled
appointments to bridge closures while
maintaining schedule optimization;
and
• Efficient, street-level routing that can
adjust schedules and learn daily traffic
patterns to minimize nonproductive
travel time.
Adding Intelligent Mobility
• Extending mobile scheduling capa-
bilities to contractors and other staff
brought in to assist with emergencies,
often on BYOD equipment;
• After employees are in the field, com-
prehensive interconnectivity with
intelligent and integrated mobile apps
that enable remarkable service execu-
tion for every job, including intracom-
pany chat capabilities;
• Integration of new technologies such
as wearables and augmented reality,
including Google Glass into the solu-
tion to gain incremental efficiency or
These and more areas for efficiency, cus-
tomer satisfaction and exceptional service
can be realized by implementing the right
technology and the right processes, namely
by using mobile work force tools and best
practices that address the organization’s
needs and challenges to save significant
expense. This can maximize staff efficiency
and effectiveness and drive substantially
higher customer satisfaction scores.
To compete and stand out from the
competition, especially in retail environ-
ments, each element of a customer inter-
action or infrastructure service call must
be handled successfully before, during
and after the service task. Each activ-
ity includes moments during which deci-
sions are made, schedules are created and
techs are informed, routed and aligned
based on their skills and locations. When
handled successfully, your organization
can master the moment and provide
service that exceeds customers’ expecta-
tions. Each small moment leads up
to the pinnacle moment, when
the heat comes back on, the
street is illuminated again or
the storm damage is miti-
gated in record time. When
this happens, you have just
transformed your field staff
from repair people into the
best brand ambassadors your
organization can have.
Although your service operation is mea-
sured by its day-of-service performance, a
sophisticated mobile work force manage-
ment solution can help exceed customers’
expectations throughout the entire life
cycle of their service.
First, understand your top priorities
from an organizational and customer
standpoint. Then, map the following capa-
bilities to those goals:
Optimizing service. Forecasting and
James Delande is a product marketing
executive with ClickSoftware.
Optimize service, automate scheduling and add intelligent mobility.
© CAN STOCK PHOTO INC. / 4774344SEAN
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32 | April 2015www.power-grid.com
Oahu Electricity Customers Save Energy, Money With Gamification App
BY RAINER BOELZLE, PEOPLE POWER CO.
novelty of the program from wear-
ing out. The program began with one
activity per week. Communicating
with participants was key to sustaining
engagement, as was the competition,
which was fueled with the app’s social
networking capabilities.
Participants weren’t forced into one
communication channel; rather, all
communication channels were opened
through in-app messaging, push notifi-
cations and email to deliver the follow-
ing interactive games and final survey:
1. Count all lights, appliances and
electronics in the home;
2. Find the plugged-in appliance that
consumes the most;
3. Find the plugged-in appliance that
has the most vampire power;
4. Thermostat, refrigerator and water
heater set it and forget it;
5. Create a rule for your Monster
smart plug and save;
6. Plant a seed and spread roots in the
community;
7. Energy-efficient appliance and
electronics wish list;
8. Get to know your energy meter;
9. Study your electric usage profile;
10. Detecting air leaks;
11. Lights out; and
12. Final survey.
These activities allowed People Power
to collect valuable participant informa-
tion: Some participants lived alone,
others had families with children, and
Some electricity customers on Oahu
saved extra energy and money dur-
ing a 12-week pilot project that com-
bined technology, education, games and
rewards to change their electricity con-
sumption behavior.
During fall 2014, software company
People Power launched its Presence Pro
Energy Program for Oahu to get people
thinking about their energy use beyond
their monthly bills. Electricity in Hawaii
costs two to three times more than on
the U.S. mainland because the state
imports oil and coal for 90 percent of
its power generation, according to the
Energy Information Administration.
The program was open to Oahu resi-
dents who owned a smartphone or
tablet, had home Internet and had more
than six months of energy history at the
same residence. Program participants
received two Monster 100MC Power
Plugs and the Presence Pro Energy
app—a $300 value—at no cost for the
12-week energy conservation engage-
ment program. Using the app, par-
ticipants immediately were able to view
their historical energy use by month
over the previous year. As soon as the
Monster plugs arrived in the mail, par-
ticipants could start monitoring and
controlling energy directly from the app.
The challenge was preventing the
CASE STUDY
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April 2015 | 33 www.power-grid.com
behavior changes is the only way to
drive sustainable energy conservation.
A sensible way to engage customers is
to go with what they know. And people
generally have their smartphones with
them at all times. They like using them.
Using that information, People Power
developed its Presence app to deliver free
smart home automation with enhanced
video security and home energy con-
trol. Users can take their
spare smartphones and
tablets—they might have
upgraded models recent-
ly—and put their old
smartphones and tablets
back to work as simple
yet powerful home secu-
rity systems. With the
help of some partner-
ships, users also can control electric
appliances remotely with the app and
Monster smart plug combination and
from their smartphones monitor their
homes’ electricity use in real time with
TED or Blue Line PowerCost systems.
People Power also studied behav-
ior change with experts from Stanford
University Change Labs, whose Deep
Change methodology brings out sys-
temic transformation solutions for real-
world challenges. When it came to driv-
ing energy consumer behavior change,
Stanford recommended gamification,
the use of game thinking and mechan-
ics to engage users in solving problems
and drive behavior change.
Don’t just meet the aggressive util-
ity energy efficiency mandates; exceed
them. Start an engaging and lasting
conversation with your customers.
Presence.”
• “This program is a truly positive
program in helping us all do our
little part in controlling and iden-
tifying energy consumption. It has
really helped me in reducing some
of the high-energy costs. Keep up
the great work!”
• “It has been a lot of fun. Hope to
see more programs like this in the
future.”
• “My family and
I have learned
so much from
participating in
these learning
activities … my
family is much
more aware of
their electricity
usage, we were able to cut $100
dollars month off our energy bill.”
In addition to the preliminary ener-
gy-savings calculations, 89 percent of
participants said the energy savings will
last for years. As a result of the program,
74 percent of participants said they are
likely to invest in energy savings com-
pared with before the program, and 75
percent are interested in participating
in future energy programs. Finally, 47
percent of program participants said
they could save 10 percent on energy
without sacrificing comfort, and 18
percent said they could save as much
as 20 percent.
BACKGROUND—STARTING
WITH WHAT CUSTOMERS USE
Excitement alone won’t solve the
energy conservation challenge. Behavior
change is equally important because
consumer interest fades fast. Engaging
consumers and promoting lifestyle or
others had roommates; some partici-
pants lived in multifamily dwellings
and others single-family homes; some
had solar, electric vehicles, swimming
pools, pets, etc.
Each situation had its own energy
conservation challenges, and having
that information allowed for commu-
nications and activities tailored to cus-
tomers’ specific circumstances.
PARTICIPATION RESULTS
The collective participation rate of
the Presence Pro Energy Program for
Oahu was 42.5 percent. “Participation”
includes activity response rates and
active app use. The results exceeded
the industry standard of 5 to 15 percent
maximum reported response rates for
most energy efficiency programs. Some
participants responded to every activ-
ity, and other participants found that
specific activities drove their responses
and participation. Participant feedback
includes:
• “This is a great system! Because I
travel a lot I can now easily switch
off a bunch of my appliances when
I leave. Wish I could turn off my
hot water heater this way!”
• “Eye opening indeed!”
• “This is an excellent exercise. It
forced me to learn how the smart
meter works and what all the num-
bers mean.”
• “You might say the plugs are work-
ing like ‘clockwork.’ I love them!”
• “I really appreciate all the sugges-
tions! It really helps to learn these
tips.”
• “Interesting; you would think if it’s
plugged in but not in use, you’re
not consuming energy.”
• “These challenges are really great!”
• “The lowest bill is thanks to you &
Rainer Boelzle is marketing director for People
Power Co. Reach him at rainer@peoplepower
co.com.
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1504pg_33 33 4/6/15 1:46 PM
adversarial and cause the benefits that
grid-connected solar plus storage brings
to all parties to not be realized. If rate
structures and business models aren’t
adjusted, these systems likely will result
in load lost for utilities, he said.
A main goal of these analyses was
to drive innovation and guide the tra-
jectories for electricity grid evolution,
Guccione said.
“There is a cost to doing nothing,”
she said. “Customers are finding ways
to use available technology in their
best interests, which are not necessarily
aligned with the interests of utilities or
grid operators.”
Some utilities and regulators advo-
cate discontinuing net metering, which
has helped grow the U.S. solar PV mar-
ket, Guccione said.
“This will only delay the inevitable
load loss and create an adversarial rela-
tionship between solar generators and
utilities,” she said.
“The Economics of Load Defection”
concludes that if pricing structures, busi-
ness models and regulatory environments
appropriately value nonexporting DER
such as solar and solar plus battery sys-
tems, utilities and customers will benefit.
“Integrated DER can improve grid
reliability and resiliency and contrib-
ute clean electricity to all customers,”
Mandel said.
Guccione and Mandel both said utili-
ties and regulators have a small window
to create a framework to ensure everyone
benefits from solar, solar plus storage
and other DER technologies.
Editor’s note: “The Economics of
Grid Defection” and “The Economics
of Load Defection” are available at
no cost at www.rmi.org under the
Thought Leadership heading.
areas studied and will be economical in
the other two areas within 10 years, the
analysis states.
Many electricity industry studies, includ-
ing a Brattle Group study released in 2008,
predict the U.S. electric grid will require
some $2 trillion in investment from 2010
to 2030. Guccione and Mandel warned
that if utilities and regulators don’t prepare
for the erosion in kilowatt-hour sales, they
will lose revenue and face economic peril
because of stranded assets. A huge risk is
that nothing will be done regarding regu-
lation and rate structure to allow utilities
and self-generating customers to capital-
ize on grid-connected solar plus storage,
Mandel said. The relationship between
these customers and utilities could become
the grid than it does with complete grid
defection.”
Mandel said the analysis did not con-
sider compensation for export of electricity
to the grid, although many U.S. areas have
programs that compensate solar customers
for exported electricity.
“This means that in some places, grid
parity for grid-connected solar and solar
plus storage likely will occur sooner than
our analysis predicts,” he said.
Figures 3 and 4 illustrate expected grid
parity for the five cities studied in the ear-
lier analysis. Utilities could lose substantial
load within the economic life and cost
recovery period for major assets. In addi-
tion, solar-only systems are already eco-
nomical in three of the five geographical
Source: Rocky Mountain Institute, “The Economics of Load Defection” April 2015.
ECONOMICALLY OPTIMAL SYSTEMCONFIGURATION
3
ECONOMICALLY OPTIMAL SYSTEMCONFIGURATION
4
Source: Rocky Mountain Institute, “The Economics of Load Defection” April 2015.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29
Bridging the Disconnect Between Utilities, Self-generators
34 | April 2015www.power-grid.com
1504pg_34 34 4/6/15 1:46 PM
JU
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CALENDAR
April 2015 | 35 www.power-grid.com
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PRODUCTS
36 | April 2015www.power-grid.com
Mobile Utility Tools
Two new families of mobile
tools from Advanced Control
Systems (ACS) equip utilities to
better manage power outages
and communicate with custom-
ers while providing work crews
with real-time information in
the field. GridVu applications
provide critical map-based information to utility crews
and customers. The new POWR mobile applications
provide access to detailed system data to enable
crews to work more efficiently in the field and perform
critical system damage assessment. The ACS mobile
tools integrate tightly with the utility control center
OMS, DMS or both, depending on the application and
type of information being presented. The applications
provide data persistence through advanced browser
technology such as HTML5, ensuring valuable infor-
mation is not lost because of problems with wireless
networks that might arise during storms.
Advanced Control Systems
GO TO WWW.PGI.HOTIMS.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION
Underground Elastomeric Resins
Dow Electrical & Telecommunications, with the
addition of its Engage polyolefin elastomers and
Nordel EPDM, supplies materials for ethylene alkene
copolymer (EAM)-filled cables and ethylene propylene
rubber (EPR) cable constructions. These same elas-
tomers are being used in a range of accessories that
include separable connectors, splices and termina-
tions. Engage polyolefin elastomers for EAM-insulated
cables exhibit: improved flexibility, trainability and less
spring back for ease of installation; thermal, wet and
dry electrical stability; and improved environmental
sustainability and recyclability. Nordel EPDM for EPR
cable constructions and accessories demonstrate:
flexibility for ease of installation and constrained
space applications; EPR history of reliability; and cost-
effective, well-designed accessories.
Dow Electrical & Telecommunications
GO TO WWW.PGI.HOTIMS.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION
Spherical Camera
Hotstick Attachment
Bubl’s spherical photo and video
technology can be used for document-
ing construction sites to underground
infrastructure and beyond. The camera
and software were developed to allow consumers and
commercial users to discover a new type of photography
and share it wherever they would like. The technology
was built to be used seamlessly across any platform,
website, blog or social network. It can live stream con-
tent directly to a mobile device using a Wi-Fi connec-
tion. Photos and videos captured are stored directly to
its onboard MicroSD card. Spherical content captured
with the Bublcam is compatible with any head-mounted
device. The company’s mobile applications enable the
split screen format by allowing one to simply toggle
between content views such as gyroscope, tactile and vir-
tual reality. And a new hot stick lamp attachment for the
Bublcam simultaneously charges the Bublcam, allowing
spherical capture of dark and hard to see places.
Bubl
GO TO WWW.PGI.HOTIMS.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION
Free Product Training
ABB has released the schedule for
its 2015 Distribution Automation train-
ing program, which includes free cus-
tomer training on all Relion products.
Following in the tradition of the ABB Relay School, the
Distribution Automation course catalog focuses on relay
schools, distribution automation, and grid substation
communications training. The courses are developed for
relay technicians and protection engineers, power systems
consultants and substation automation system and com-
munications engineers. These two- to three-day classes
deliver the tools for customers to become proficient in the
installation and operation of ABB relays. Classes begin in
March with the Relion 615 Series and run through October.
Course descriptions, a calendar and registration informa-
tion is available at http://bit.ly/1u2wyfg.
ABB
GO TO WWW.PGI.HOTIMS.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION
1504pg_36 36 4/6/15 1:46 PM
ìWeíve been successful for decades
as an innovative electric cooperative and ACS has been with us every step of the way.î
Cobb EMC was our �rst customer, keeping pace with advances in our
technology over the last 40 years, and now leads the future of utilities in
digital communications.
Our customer-relationship secret is trust. Our customers trust
Advanced Control SystemsTM to execute their vision while we work as a
team to deliver innovative automation solutions worldwide. Since 1975,
our systems & services enable improved grid resiliency, reliability and
e�ciency for utilities of all sizes. Let us help you realize your goals with
proven technology, turnkey services and industry-leading support.
Contact us: 800.831.7223 | Extension 4
Advanced DMS
Outage Management
Mobile
Energy Management
Substation Automation
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Turnkey Services
acspower.com
Bhaji Dhillon, P.E. CEM, Director
Cobb EMC, Marietta, Georgia
40YearsCheers
to
20
15
©A
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ntr
ol S
yste
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Inc.
All R
igh
ts R
eserv
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.
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1504pg_C3 3 4/6/15 1:46 PM
www.dnvgl.com/UofF2015
The future of energy is happening now. Be a part of it!
Register today to reserve your seat at the Forum at www.dnvgl.com/UofF2015.
Gain key insights and explore the unfolding trends in renewables integration, policy changes, new customer behavior, exciting technologies, innovative financing trends,
and emerging business models.
Join the conversation about Utility of the Future on Twitter. #UofF2015
DNV KEMA is now DNV GL
SAFER, SMARTER, GREENER
JOIN THE INNOVATORS AT ‘THE’ ENERGY INDUSTRY’S LEADERSHIP FORUMWashington Marriott at Metro Center in Washington DC
Hosted by DNV GL (formerly DNV KEMA)
Meet some of the 2015 Utility of the Future Panelists and Advisors:
UTILITY OF THE FUTURE
LEADERSHIP FORUMJUNE 1-3, 2015
Gerry CauleyPresident & CEO
NERC
Gordon van WeliePresident & CEOISO New England
Thierry GodartPresidentUtilities
Schneider Electric
James AverySenior Vice President
Power SupplySan Diego Gas & Electric
James TongVice President
StrategyClean Power Finance
Joe HoaglandVice President
Stakeholder RelationsTennessee Valley Authority
Janet JosephVice President
Technology & Strategic PlanningNYSERDA
Terry BostonPresident & CEO
PJM Interconnection
Charlie SmithExecutive Director
Utility Variable-Generation
Integration Group (UVI)
Robert CatellChairman New York StateSmart Grid Consortium,
Chairman Advanced Energy
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Go to pgi.hotims.com for more information.
1504pg_C4 4 4/6/15 1:46 PM