The existing electricity infrastructure in the
United States is outdated and inefficient.
Energy companies provide power to
consumers, but the grid provides no
information about how the consumers are using that
energy, making it difficult to develop more efficient
approaches to distribution. Also, the current electricity
grid offers few ways to handle power provided by
alternative energy sources, which are critical components
of most efforts to go “green.” Enter the smart
grid.
A smart grid delivers electricity from suppliers to
consumers using digital technology to save energy,
reduce costs, and increase reliability and transparency.
The smart grid enables information to flow
back and forth between electric power providers and
individual households to allow both consumers and
energy companies to make more intelligent
decisions regarding energy consumption and
production. Information from smart grids would
show utilities when to raise prices when demand is
high and lower them when demand lessens. Smart
grids would also help consumers program high-use
electrical appliances like heating and air conditioning
systems to reduce consumption during times of
peak usage. If implemented nationwide, proponents
believe, smart grids would lead to a 5 to 15 percent
decrease in energy consumption. Electricity grids are
sized to meet the maximum electricity need, so a
drop in peak demand would enable utilities to
operate with fewer expensive power plants, thereby
lowering costs and pollution.
Another advantage of smart grids is their ability to
detect sources of power outages more quickly and
precisely at the individual household level. With
such precise information, utilities will be able to
respond to service problems more rapidly and
efficiently.
Managing the information flowing in these smart
grids requires technology: networks and switches for
power management; sensor and monitoring devices
to track energy usage and distribution trends;
systems to provide energy suppliers and consumers
with usage data; communications systems to relay
data along the entire energy supply system; and
systems linked to programmable appliances to run
them when energy is least costly.