Connecticut passes bill in wake of explosion

Connecticut lawmakers have given final legislative approval to a bill banning the use of flammable gas to clean piping at natural gas-fire power plants. The bill attempts to address safety issues that came to light following the 2010 explosion at Kleen Energy in Middletown. Six men were killed in the blast. The senate approved the bill unanimously June 7. Much of the bill codifies recommendations of a commission created last year by the former Connecticut governor. It puts into state law the governor's executive order banning gas blows, the practice under way when the massive explosion occurred at the 620-megawatt plant that was under construction. The bill also requires power plant developers to provide at least one special inspector to help local fire marshals inspect such facilities.

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first published week of:   06/13/2011

Consumer issues in “grid modernization”
Have utilities, regulators, consumer advocates found common ground?

An acquaintance recently told [me] she’d like to talk with consumer advocates to see where the gaps are between their positions and her findings on consumers’ positive responses to dynamic pricing programs.

Point being, there must be gaps that, once identified, can be bridged. And bridges can be crossed to achieve progress on grid modernization.

In fact, an endeavor of this kind has been underway for the past ten months, as a series of four meetings between investor–owned utilities (IOUs), consumer advocates and state regulators took place in Atlanta (November 2010), Phoenix (March 2011), New Orleans (April 2011) and Baltimore (May 2011). This effort was made under the aegis of the Critical Consumer Issues Forum (CCIF), an idea sponsored by the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the trade association that represents IOUs.

The result, “Grid Modernization Issues with a Focus on Consumers,” is a matter–of–fact presentation of five areas in which these sometimes disparate interests found a degree of consensus through those meetings. The report was presented earlier this week at GridWeek in Washington, D.C.

“We hope this report provides value to each of the three groups,” CCIF Executive Director Katrina McMurrian told me. “Here are some areas of consensus and areas that need follow–up. It shows outsiders that these three groups do talk and that they can find areas of consensus.”

You should know the CCIF effort was funded by EEI. Whether that sponsorship affected the outcome is for you to decide. I’d argue that it reflected that utilities badly need consensus with consumers and regulators to achieve their business objectives. To a degree, whether and how utilities achieve their business objectives affects the rest of us. So, fair enough.

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first published week of:   09/19/2011

Consumers Reveal the Smart Grid Benefits They Value Most
SGCC study finds personal and societal benefits valued equally

In a new survey, consumers rank both the personal and societal benefits of smart grid technologies as very important to their consideration, support and acceptance. The 2011 Consumer Pulse Survey, a national research project conducted for the Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative (SGCC) by Market Strategies International, conducted in-depth analysis of the attitudes of 1,200 residential consumers to home energy management, smart meters, and smart grid technologies in general.

“We’ve found consumers to be remarkably consistent in their evaluation of the benefits commonly associated with the smart grid and smart meters,“ said Patty Durand, SGCC executive director. ’The fact that respondents rated practical and financial concerns on par with environmental, conservation and energy independence issues tells much about what consumers value and the factors that may influence their energy decisions.”

The study reveals that many factors -- from a lower monthly bill to decreasing foreign energy imports -- encourage consumers to use the new technologies to manage energy usage. Understanding the drivers of adoption can help energy and technology providers to develop messages and programs that meet consumer needs.

SGCC will release additional Consumer Pulse findings, including a robust consumer segmentation, this month to SGCC members. Nonmembers may access topline findings at www.smartgridcc.org

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first published week of:   09/19/2011

Copper thieves leave PSE substation dark

Puget Sound Energy estimated it will cost around $10,000 to replace and repair wires that were cut and stolen from its Northlake Way substation in Bremerton, Washington. Kitsap County sheriff's deputies were called at 8:40 a.m. July 15 after someone found a hole cut through the station's fence at Northlake Way and Seabeck Highway. Roughly 25 feet of copper ground wires were cut and stolen, according to sheriff's reports. The substation needed to go offline to be repaired. The repair was scheduled to happen at night to minimize the impact to users. Deputies have no suspect information. The July 15 theft was the second time in a month wires were cut and stolen from the substation.

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first published week of:   07/25/2011

Costs Coming Down Fast Enough?
Utility CEOs talk solar power

The cost of solar may be coming down, but the decline needs to accelerate for the resource to become a meaningful part of the generation mix.

That was the consensus view during the Executive Utility Roundtable at the recent Solar Power International conference.

What with the balancing act of cost, reliability and the move toward cleaner sources, the progress in recent years needs to be sustained. But for all that, the discussion still referred to the elusive price on carbon, rising costs of plant retrofits and retirements, all the things that customers don’t want to hear in a troubled economy: higher rates

“At the end of the day it comedown to costs because of economic pressures. We have to make decisions in regards to allocation of capital,” said Randy Mehrberg, president & chief operating officer, PSEG Energy Holdings. “We just spent $1 billion on the back–end of our coal plants to make them some of the cleanest in the country, and we have to compete with those expenditures when we do solar.”

Armando Olivera, president & CEO, Florida Power & Light Company, said solar gives the utility “diversity in a system that’s becoming more and more dependent on natural gas.”

The system has 110 megawatts, based on a state program, and wants to do more. “We’ve seen dramatic decrease in costs,” Olivera said. “We think we can do the same projects 30 to 40 percent cheaper than we did three or four years ago.”

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first published week of:   10/31/2011

Cyber-security of power grid in ‘near chaos,’ report says

The cybersecurity of the North American power grid is “in a state of near chaos,” according to report by Pike Research, a consulting group monitoring the industry’s transition to wireless digital technologies, the Ottawa Citizen reported November 15. The group’s white paper revealed a $60 smart phone application can bypass security measures and allow direct communications between the phone and some industrial control systems (ICS) that regulate breakers, relays, feeders, and the flow of electricity. As the industry evolves from largely isolated systems to a grid built around interoperable, digital technologies, security jitters are rising. Many ICS have lifespans of 30 years, and mitigation and compensation measures to help them mesh with the newer technologies are creating additional weak links and vulnerabilities. The installation of “smart meters” to improve electricity distribution efficiency is also a potential gateway for attacks. In a rush to install a patchwork of fixes to address potential cyber–security gaps and with some utilities investing in compliance minimums rather than full security, “the attackers clearly have the upper hand,” said the report.

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first published week of:   11/28/2011

Volume 31

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