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POWER UP: ConEdison's generator on the East River, colloquially known as 'Big Alice.' ConEdison is working with Orange and Rockland Utility upstate to implement a Smart Grid technology pilot. (Tara MacIsaac/The Epoch Times)
NEW YORK—The Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) on Long Island, along with other institutes across the nation, are developing Smart Grid technology to save massive amounts of energy lost daily as it travels from transmission station to consumer.
In New York City, at certain peak times, up to 22 percent of the energy pulsing through the grid is lost due to increased heat in power system lines and other electrical components says Stephanie Hamilton, manager of BNL's Smart Grid Research and Development program.
The term Smart Grid technology applies to many different innovations, but one big focus in the industry is data management and analysis. It's about having all the data necessary to run the grid efficiently.
"[Utilities] are blind beyond the substation," explained BNL spokesperson Kay Cordtz.
The substation is where the high-voltage energy from the provider is turned into low-voltage energy suitable to be sent out for use by the customer.
Energy measurements and other data beyond this point are not readily available but with certain Smart Grid build outs, such as sensors, the data will become available.
Once providers can see what is happening, they can more accurately avoid overloading circuits and distribute power more evenly across their customer base. With quick data computations, they can, for example, switch a large, high energy-consuming customer from an overloaded circuit to another circuit, which is not as stressed.
The most cutting edge technology is needed to compute these massive amounts of data efficiently. Providers must collect measurements in thousands of locations, as well as compile information about all of the circuits, breakers, poles, and wires. Geographic Information System (GIS) technology is then used to map it all out.
"There are an enormous amount of moving parts. It's very complicated," said Michael Donovan of Orange and Rockland Utility.
A Smart Grid pilot program is already in the works in Orange and Rockland Counties, about 60 and 30 miles upstate from New York City respectively.
Orange and Rockland Utilities and ConEdison are working with a $4.5 million federal grant to implement this technology.
This is part of a $75.7 million investment statewide in Smart Grid technology. The US Department of Energy provided $37.8 million, New York State Independent System Operator chipped in $22 million, and the transmission owners forked up the rest in May 2010.
Construction is still underway in Orange and Rockland Counties. When it is completed, a yearlong test period will follow before the Smart Grid is in use. Orange and Rockland Utilities is also using a $21 million federal grant to work on smart grid technology in its New Jersey territory.
"Almost all of this technology is cutting edge and a lot of it hasn't been used before," said Donovan. "We are studying other company's experience every day. [Knowledge about the Smart Grid] is something that just grows exponentially every day."
Silicon Valley Power in California is at the forefront of using this technology, which is perhaps to be expected in the nation's technology epicenter. A BNL article points out that Silicon Valley Power services Yahoo and Google and has the highest reliability of all utility companies in the United States.
While compiling data can help distributors make their systems more efficient, it can also help consumers hold up their end of the call to save energy.
Smart meters will tell consumers on a real-time basis how much energy is being used at their residences.
"That awareness will then engage the customer," says Hamilton, who is working with a co-op in Manhattan to generate "nega-watts." That is, residents refrain from using electricity at desirable, peak times.
