Smart Grid Stuck In Slow-Go

The National Academy of Engineering just a few years ago ranked America’s electrical power grid as the greatest technological achievement of the 20th century. But this technical wonder has become antiquated, perhaps dangerously so.

As digital technology races ahead in the home, the power grid, as it is commonly known, has become stuck in a quagmire of static development. Regulations aside, power companies lack government incentives to justify research and development spending for state-of-the-art technology.

But aging technology means more blackouts, greater vulnerability to computer hackers and, perhaps worst of all, power consumption inefficiency, according to Alex Kingsbury, a U.S. News & World Report associate editor who covers national and international news with a focus on homeland security.

As part of the economic stimulus package, President Obama has pledged $3.4 billion toward development of better power grid technology. The aim is to stabilize the infrastructure in case of failure, incorporate green technology, and vastly improve efficiency.

But many experts, including N.Y. Times columnist and Pulitzer Prize winning author Thomas Friedman, whose most recent book - "Hot, Flat, and Crowded" - explains how America can lead the green revolution in the 21st century, agree it will take upward of $100 billion to achieve practical power grid goals for our country.

There are several basic building blocks of a smart grid. Currently, power plants simply provide electricity to homes. But, as part of a smart system, homes equipped with solar panels or wind turbines also are able to supply the grid. Such a system can be stable and repairable in the event of a brownout or blackout.

“In the more distant future, smart power grids may be able to coordinate the use of electricity in the home — for instance, turning on an appliance like a washing machine at a time of the day when there is ample power on the grid and prices are low,’’ says Massoud Amin, an electrical engineering professor at the University of Minnesota, credited with coining the name “smart grid.”

Waste reduction is the most important long-term objective for smart grid development. Eliminating small inefficiencies can have dramatic effects on the entire system.

The incandescent bulb is a good example. By the time the bulb is converted into light, only about 0.8 or percent of the power is used. New LED technology over the next two decades could save $265 billion or remove the need to build another 40 power plants, thereby cutting demand by more than 30 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Other advancements can be found on the Internet. Google introduced a new product called PowerMeter which allows users to track their power consumption in near real time on their computers.

Edward Lu, a project manager at Google, says, “When consumers can see in real time how much energy they are using, they save 5 to 15 percent on their electricity use with simple behavioral changes.” The government estimates that as many as half the homes in the United States could have smart meters in the next five years.

Other problems loom and need to be addressed. Integrating more computers into the power grid brings with it the possibility of vulnerability and hacking. Experts note that some 80 percent of the electric utility companies in America are privately held and have shown little interest in investing in cyber security.

One problem was noted in 2008 when Tom Donahue, the CIA’s top cyber security analyst, unveiled information to public utility leaders that hackers had broken into one power system outside the United States. The hackers caused power outages in some 14 cities. Further, the security firm McAfee earlier this year found that over half of all power plants’ systems had been breached by hackers.

Of even more concern to national security experts are the compounding effects of a potential power grid breakdown caused by hackers.

At a major cyber war game recently held in Washington, D.C., a group of former senior government leaders, including ex-CIA chief John McLaughlin, and ex-Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff (left), found that responding to a hypothetical cyber attack against the nation’s mobile phone system was complicated exponentially when the power grid began to fail.

Amin, who leads the Minnesota Smart Grid Coalition, says the benefits of an improved power grid far outweigh potential security issues.

“Cyber security is most effective when it is responsive and flexible, which is exactly what the smart grid system will include,” he says. Only then, he continues, will the country have a grid that is worthy of the title as one of the greatest technological marvels of all time.

This post is from TechMan, WMB co-author who blogs about trends, issues and ideas affecting business, industry, technology and consumers.