Examining the foundational elements in architecture decision
BY TOM WILSON, Itron
In recent years, the utility industry has seen a diverse set of use cases for Smart Grid deployments emerge. North American electric utilities are carefully considering architecture decisions to ensure that the technology will deliver as promised and support current and future requirements. The industry has experienced changes in infrastructure investment priorities and evaluation criteria for identifying and selecting best-in-class solutions.
Regulatory directives...
Reducing engineering costs using IEC 61850 BY ADAM GAUCI, Schneider Electric As substation automation is moving towards software environments based on the International Electrotechnical Commission’s substation automation standard, IEC 61850: “Power Utility Automation”, the engineering process...
Moving forward with distribution automation and intelligent electronic devices BY JOHN MCDONALD, GE Digital Energy The ongoing rollout of interval (aka “smart”) meters and the resulting deluge of data have rightly received much attention and triggered the initial impetus for electric utility...
The importance of up-to-date critical system monitoring BY MARLEE ROSEN, Rosen Associates Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) networks contain computers and applications that perform critical capabilities in delivering essential services and commodities (for example, electricity,...
Using technology to improve response and recovery BY TOM BERGER, Mutualink The electric utility industry has an outstanding performance record of providing reliable power to public agencies, private enterprises, and the general public for over 100 years. However, when outages occur due to...
A Smart substation digitizes protection and control, enabling utilities to detect faults faster, manage DER volatility, and reduce outage risk. The payoff depends on architecture, cybersecurity, and edge analytics, not just new relays. The shift toward smart substations is inseparable from broader...
A coalition of large energy consumers and ratepayer advocates has filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), urging the agency to prohibit transmission owners from independently planning "local" transmission projects exceeding 100 kilovolts (kV). The coalition argues...
In a significant move that underscores the growing demand for reliable and sustainable energy to power the expanding digital infrastructure, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved an interconnection agreement between Talen Energy, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Exelon. This...
The evolving demands of modern power grids necessitate the adoption of advanced technologies that can provide enhanced efficiency, reliability, and flexibility. Smart transformers are at the forefront of this technological revolution, offering a range of capabilities that significantly improve the...
NEURAL GRID TAKES SMART GRID INTO THE CLOUD The Neural Grid represents more than Smart Grid v2.0—much more. Today, the smart grid implies the legacy mechanical power transmission and distribution (T&D) networks enhanced by pockets of automation, connectivity, and centralized IT systems. The...
When dozens of utilities received stimulus funds for distribution automation projects in 2009, solar was barely a gigawatt-scale market in the U.S. Sandy was simply a lead character in Grease, not a superstorm that would prompt cities and states to reassess the future-readiness of their...
