Ben Franklin famously said, “If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail”. This saying certainly holds true for Smart Grid deployments, which can cost utilities several hundred million dollars. Given these high stakes, effective planning is essential.

Many North American electric utilities have installed Smart Grid systems. Currently, 25 percent of U.S. electricity customers have smart meters, a key component of the Smart Grid. Some early deployments were rocky, but utilities have learned valuable lessons. Utilities have incorporated these lessons learned in the planning process for recent Smart Grid deployments.

A well-thought-out Smart Grid deployment plan should address strategic purpose, roadmap, technologies, implementation, customer impacts, new service, customer education, as well as cybersecurity and data privacy.