So, What is the Smart Grid, Really?

I’m working on a story---as is a writer’s annoying habit. This one’s for the Sept. issue of the magazine, and I’ve decided to title it “Will Smart Grids Take Over the World?” I might even have a big Godzilla toy stomping on the North Pole of a shiny globe as the artwork for it. There’s a fantasy quality to smart grids that lends itself to over-the-top visuals.

In working on this story, I needed leads. I mean, really, no one is gonna listen to me blather on about smart grids without some support. So, I’ve lined up some responses, some stats, a nice interview with Duke Energy. I’m making progress.

Perhaps I’m making too much progress.

These days, I think I should illustrate the story with the Blob instead of Godzilla---the smart grid as amorphous and out of control. It’s taking over my work life, this story. Contacts and leads forward my story idea to other contacts and other leads and now I have no idea how many responses I’m going to get or where they might all come from. It’s a whole lot of input that’s coming at me from all sides. Why? Cuz saying “smart grid” in this industry is like screaming “kegger” on a college campus. We’ll elbow each other out of the way to get a hit.

That’s all well and good. It’s awesome to have lots of people taking lots of different points of view. Yet, they won’t. There won’t be differing points of view, I’ll bet you. I doubt I hear a single . . . well, doubt.

You see, at the center of this story is a single premise. Riddle me this: Is the smart grid brilliant or just hype?

Whether I get 5 responses, in the end, or 500, I guarantee you no one will tell me it’s just hype. After all, it’s the great industry hope. We’re tying our dreams to the smart grid---and our investment money, and our advertising dollars and our roadmaps to the future.
But, just last week FERC issued a statement that was intended to light a fire under the movement to work on smart grid standards. IEEE is working on something, but, we, as an industry, are a bit “slow-pokey” about these things.

So, here we are packaging and dolling up the smart grid, but no one has standards. So far, this roadmap has no key, I guess.

Reminds me of the Christmas my grandfather put together my Barbie Dream House without instructions. He got it done, but it took him all night. And more pots of coffee than he’d care to remember. He finished in time to catch about an hour of sleep. I was impressed. It was put together sturdy enough, even without directions. My grandfather’s always been handy at things. I played with that Barbie Dream House for years. But, then again, it was just a toy.

The smart grid, however, is not just a toy. And, we’re tying an awful lot of ourselves to something that still defies definition. And lacks instructions.

May we be as good at winging it today as my grandfather was back in 1979.