A key public policy goal in Virginia is to generate 12 percent of the state’s electric power from renewable energy sources by 2022. That is an exceedingly ambitious target, especially when you consider all the problems that renewable energy sources pose. Wind turbines blow intermittently, and solar units don’t generate electricity when the sun doesn’t shine.
By contrast, coal- and nuclear-powered generators run predictably, around the clock if need be, while gas-fired generators are configured to power up and power down on short notice. Because Dominion, Appalachian Power and Virginia’s other electric utilities can’t control when the renewable sources produce electricity, they must maintain back-up power sources that can kick in when the renewables slack off. They also need the means to monitor fluctuating electricity production and ensure that the juice flows where it’s supposed to go.
One of the anticipated virtues of a “smart grid” — an electric system with sensors and intelligent controllers embedded at the generators, the transmission lines, the sub-stations, the electric lines and last, but not least, the household meter — is that it will make it possible to smoothly integrate those variable energy sources into the grid. Without it, that 12 percent goal is a pipe dream.
Dominion Virginia Power is taking the first tentative step down the path leading to a true smart grid. Right now, it is proposing to invest $600 million in “smart meters,” a key component of a smart grid. These smart meters won’t be able to do all the razzle-dazzle stuff that smart grid aficionados look for, but Dominion does expect them to offer significant benefits.
For starters, Dominion should save lots of money reading meters and turning meters on and off, and it expects the flow of data to help it trim the voltage delivered to individuals homes, thus actually reducing electricity consumption to a small degree. Further, the smart meters will enable the holy grail of smart grid advocates: variable rate pricing. With smart meters, Dominion will be able to adjust its charges based on what it costs to generate at any point in time, and customers can dynamically respond by shifting their energy consumption. The end result will be a significant shift in consumption from peak loads to off-peak loads, staving off the need to build new base-load plants.
Smart meters represent a paradigm shift. Explains David Green, senior vice president-customer service: “Today, the utility industry views the meter as an end point of the [electric distribution] system.” As manufacturers increasingly embed consumer appliances with chips, they’ll be able to communicate. “With a smart grid, the meter becomes a network node within the distribution system that can talk to appliances, pool pumps, water heaters, and air conditioner units” — ideally working on concert to shave electric consumption.
Green raised one other interesting point. A tidal wave is about to hit the electric power industry and no one outside the industry seems to be paying attention yet. Dominion executives are convinced that mass production of plug-in hybrid vehicles is only two or three years away. What worries them is the prospect of thousands of Virginia commuters returning home from work after 5 p.m. and plugging in their cars to recharge their batteries — and electric demand shooting through the roof.
A solution to the gasoline crisis could quickly turn into an electric generation crisis.
Dominion officials regard variable, time-of-day pricing as a valuable tool to encourage customers to defer the recharging of their batteries. And smart meters are a necessary component of variable pricing. Dominion wants to be prepared for the sea-change in electric demand, says Green. “We want to be at the table with General Motors.”
Says Green: “Most manufacturers are expecting plug-in hybrids to be available on a widespread basis in the 2010-201 time frame. … We were in Detroit just a couple of weeks ago. The mass production is coming from all of the major manufacturers in two or three years. We have to anticipate it. If we don’t, it will exacerbate our peak. … We want to be at the table with General Motors.”
Read my full e-zine story, “Brainy Power.
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