A Microsoft/OSIsoft survey released on January 24 found that utility companies using smart grid technology increased 25 percent in 2011. Of the companies that did not use the technology, 28 percent said that they were in the planning states of implementing smart grid with only 24 percent saying that had adopted none of the technology. Sixty-three percent of companies surveyed expected their smart grid budget to increase over the next two to three years.

Smart grid technology sets up two-way communication between nodes of the electrical grid, such as power meters, voltage detectors and fault detectors. In the past, utilities companies sent human technicians out in the field to collect this data. Now, utilities can use remote access to fine-tune individual devices or groups of devices from computers at the main utilities station.

Benefits of smart grid technology include improved cyber-security, integration of alternative power sources into the grid and even the integration of electric vehicles into the power grid. The goals of the Energy Department in implementing smart grid include improving response to service interruptions, providing power quality for 21st century needs and customer demands, and operating resiliently against physical and cyber attacks.

Twenty percent of those surveyed stated that technical issues kept them from implementing the smart grid technology. A staggering 72 percent of respondents had no architecture in place to support either current or future rollouts of smart grid. For these businesses, Microsoft (News - Alert) offers its Smart Energy Reference Architecture, or SERA. This detailed framework incorporates existing technology and improves two-way communication around the grid. Microsoft also claims that SERA will result in more efficient interoperability, reduced costs and adherence to standards.

To improve SERA’s interface, OSIsoft offers its PI System. The system is designed to allow users to access data and events in real time for improved decision-making. This data, which includes data about current usage, would help utilities to make decisions about production to both increase their efficiencies and lower their costs.

The survey respondents included 216 electric, gas and water utility professionals. Many professionals cited the large flow of data through smart grid technology as an organizational challenge. Those polled cited the need for business intelligence solutions that would analyze and organize high-volume data so that companies could have real-time, actionable information.

The 2007 U.S. Energy Independence and Security Act as well as the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act both provide financial incentives for both utilities and enterprises that increase the efficiency of service delivery and lower usage. The electrical grid, according to experts, is a major contributor to pollution in North America.

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