Energy Policy and the Smart Grid

Howard Schwartz, WA Dept of Commerce

WTIA, April 6, 2010

Overview

• The Promise of the Smart Grid• Policy Questions• Policy Priorities• Our Assets• Not all roses: the risks of Over-Promising• Pushback

The Promise of the Smart Grid

• Make electricity system more reliable and flexible though advanced metering, sensing and communication.

• Communication is the key to the smart grid• Potential:– Better load management– Faster response to reliability events– Integration of variable generation (wind, solar)

Our main policy questions

1. Economicsa) Cost/benefit ratiob) Who pays?c) How financed?

2. Which applications to prioritize3. Security4. Privacy5. Consumer acceptance6. Role of Government

a) Establish Standardsb) Mandate?c) Facilitate?d) Regulate?e) Finance?

Some Policy Priorities

Better Management of High-Voltage transmission system E.g, Synchrophasors to measure voltage throughout transmission system in order to anticipate

possible failures Utility distribution system efficiency and reliability Integration of variable renewable generation (wind, solar)

Communication between renewable and other generation Enabling of storage technologies (once commercialized)

Electric Vehicles Smart charging stations Ultimately, integrate EVs into grid for scheduled charging and storage

Demand Response Everybody’s favorite but proving harder than expected to implement (See Push-Back, later on)

Washington State’s Assets

• The companies you have just heard from• BPA and a number of innovative utilities• ARRA smart grid demo- 12 utilities in region +

BPA - help us learn what works and what doesn’t.

• ARRA implementation grants—– AVISTA, Snohomish PUD, PNGC

• State of WA commitment to clean energy

Over-Promise and Push-Back

• Compare to vision and reality of interstate highway system or internet– Clean and smooth vs. cluttered and congested

• Managing end-use loads will prove difficult (more later on this)

• Much hardware and software still needs to be developed

• And what is already developed still needs to be demonstrated

Section of the Capital Beltway, shown in the mid-1960s

Managing Expectations:

The Smart Grid Vision is one of total integration. How realistic is this?

Push-Back

• Difficulties in Residential applications– Value to utilities and consumers not yet proven– Consumer resistance– complaints, lawsuits, etc– Resistance by regulators– Technology is the easy part

• Competition with other utility infrastructure needs

For follow up on Policy Issues, contact:

Howard Schwartz, PhDHoward.Schwartz@commerce.wa.gov360-725-3114

For follow up on Business Assistance as well as policy, contact:

Tim StearnsTim.Stearns@commerce.wa.gov206-256-6121