Is the Smart Grid IQ of the Average Consumer Important?

I'm rather sick of the consumer. The consumer is everywhere, in everything. I've been horribly overexposed to this new industry icon. He pops up at every conference I attend, from CIRED in Prague to Autovation in Denver. He's all over press releases, including the one today (9-21) from GE touting a shiny new Website just for him. The consumer has fingers in all smart grid pies, is as visible as Britney Spears making yet another pop comeback.

We talk a lot about this consumer of the future, the one who is going to change the world. But, with today's consumer, there's yet another problem. Apparently, he's just not very bright, despite his popularity. He seems to be rather a dim bulb, to borrow a phrase/industry pun. He may be everywhere, but, as of yet, he's learned nothing at all.

Think about it. What does every utility, every administrator, every smart grid expert and every vendor want to provide to the consumer? An education.

Nearly a hundred years after electrification, the consumer still can't pass the test. He needs more information; he needs new ways to process that information: smart meters, smart thermostats, energy management systems, in-home energy displays. If a trip to any recent power conference is any indication, we're going to solve this dumb consumer issue in one fell swoop, the way Billy Mays could once give you a product to clean any surface, no matter what the stain or taint.

Of course, the taint here is a tad different shade, a bit of a different color. Because, until the smart grid came along and promises of stimulus money and demand response options hit the table, this industry didn't much care about the knowledge level of its consumer. It's not that the consumer wasn't always important to the equation; if you make power, someone needs to have a use for that power. That's a given. But, considering the consumer as an active, informed part of the equation with options to impact and change a utility's plan is new.

So now, as an industry, we're suddenly excited about educating. We're thrilled to be providing all the information that a consumer needs to participate in demand response programs and be a team player. Go team power.

There is a hitch, though. There remains a little snag in this industry-woven tapestry of the smart grid informed consumer of the future destined to save the world. One uncomfortable fact looms during all those educational sessions and talks and examinations, like an invisible little sword of Damocles.

What is that uncomfortable fact? Well, it's just basic human nature. Namely, just because we know things doesn't mean we act on them. Here's a good example. I'm fully aware that dragging my lazy self off the couch and taking a walk is better for me than sitting there through another episode of "Wipeout." Yet, I don't do it very often. And, I'm fully aware that drinking water is better for my body than drinking Dr. Pepper. Yet, I often choose the Pepperificness.

Bottomline: Just because we know stuff doesn't mean we'll change old habits. It's a logical fallacy to think that education equals motivation. We do stuff that's bad for us (and for the environment) all the time. We chose lazy over active constantly. Usually you need to both know the stuff and get a good stiff kick in the pants to bring about any sort of real change. So, while we spend all this time talking about the first step (education), does anyone have a good plan for the second step (motivation)?

I fear if we can't find that kick in the pants, we may have ourselves an expensively educated, overexposed consumer with no real desire to do anything more with demand response than watch his in-home energy mood orb change colors in pretty ways.

Siemens Aims for 6 Billion Euros in 5 Years

Siemens let the world know last week that smart grid is their focus and cash in the bank is their goal. They're planning on pulling in billions---not millions, mind you---in the next five years with smart grid and related products.

The release late last week about smart grids touted no new product or new service, just that general announcement that there's going to be lots of euros for smart grid and, by goodness, Siemens wants their fair share.

It's amazing to me that what started as a way for the grid to work smarter, not harder, has garnered such intense industry celebrity these days. While the smart grid's cash cow hasn't yet fully materialized, it's obvious that Siemens is keeping an eye on all in-roads leading from the smart grid to their front door---every path that dear Bessie might wander down.

Wolfgang Dehen, CEO of the Siemens Energy Sector, was quoted as saying, “We are already on the optimal course in the smart grids business and will be running at top speed in the future. A new age for power supplies is dawning with smart grids."Siemens even anticipated that the smart grid cash cow would chew up a billion euros by the end of the current fiscal year. They see a fast growing industry and, according to Dehen, they, personally, want to "grow twice as fast as the overall market."

And, they're not joking. Siemens is projecting seven percent annual growth and a market share of 20 percent.Overall, Siemens expects to receive orders worth around 15 billion euros by 2012.

Forty percent of these orders, or a volume of roughly 6 billion euros, is expected to be for green technologies from the Siemens Environmental Portfolio, according to the company.

And they have a bell in hand for Bessie. There's no way that particular cash cow is going to wander far afield without Siemens hearing the tintinnabulation of its movements.

In honor of Siemens' German roots, perhaps we should start referring to this trend of metaphorically belling the smart grid cash cow as an "almglocke" move.

Makes me wonder who will almglocke little smart grid Bessie next. Who will be next to announce their smart grid intentions in loud, jangling press release bells?

We've Got A New Name

I've been working at Utility Automation and Engineering T and D for four years now. In that time, I have discovered that our magazine name, while incredibly detailed and accurate, is a bit difficult to spit out on the phone, a little hard to add to your name and title to when meeting people. But, I no longer have to worry about that particular problem, since we've changed our name to the leaner, meaner POWERGRID International.

I quite like the name POWERGRID International. I have a real affection for it. It's tight. It's short. It gets the point across quickly, directly. And, it's quite easy to say on the phone, by the way.

PennWell first published POWERGRID International in 1995 under the title Utility Automation magazine. When established, the magazine covered automation, control and IT systems for the electric utility industry. Through the years, it has grown to include SCADA, distribution automation, substation automation, automatic meter reading, GIS and the current hot topic, smart grids.

I guess I might like the name because it says exactly what we cover: T&D, or the grid, from one end to the other, from the power coming out of that generating station, that wind turbine, that solar panel array all the way to your fridge, your AC, your flat screen TV.

Officially, the new name will be revealed in print with our September issue, which is also full of juicy expanded international coverage about smart grids in Europe and work in Tokyo. So, make a note to check it out when it mails this month (and gets posted right here to our new Website, too.)

We hope you enjoy the way this new name, POWERGRID International, rolls off the tongue so easily. I know I do.