Today, President Obama---in a nice photo op at Florida Power & Light's DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center---announced a whole bucket of cash for the grid. Now, was I the only person that thought, "Shouldn't he be at a substation or under some power lines or something?" While I get that he's big on the renewables, his choice of proper placement for this announcement isn't exactly grid-specific. It seems a little off-topic.
He's forking over $3.4 billion of my tax money (which will be matched by $8 billion in industry funds) for grid upgrades. So, I guess I shouldn't be picky. But, it still irks me a tad. Despite all the shiny talk about smart, intelligent grids, despite the chatter about grid evolution and grid 2.0, grids are still ... well, they're just not very sexy, now are they?
Renewables are sexy. Solar panels and wind turbines and great sweeping landscape shots. Renewables are going save the world. And, saving the world is sexy.
But, figuring out how the wires, components and interconnections to make that world-saving happen---not so sexy. Think of it like your flat screen TV. Flat screens are the ultimate in tech sexy. But, when you open the manual and try to figure out how to plug in your DVR and your DVD player and all the other dangling components---well, then that flat screen loses a bit of the zing it had before.
My parents have never fully figured out their flat screen. They still have to crawl behind it to unplug the Direct TV and plug in the DVD player when they want to watch a movie. And they gripe about it. But, it works.
Unfortunately, we can't just unplug a power plant and plug in a wind turbine. All our cables in this industry aren't quite so "plug and play" as those connecting our home electronics. So, despite the lack of visible sexiness in those big wire bundles, we need to look at them more often. We need to recognize the beauty---and, yes, the sexiness---in them.
Like inner beauty, it's an inner sexiness. I get that. It's based on the world-saving, flat-screen-powering zip that those wires will bring us rather than the wires themselves. But, inner sexiness is a good thing.
My parents never could teach me the system for unplugging the satellite TV and plugging in the DVD player at their house. But, they did teach me about inner beauty and its importance. (I still refuse to wear high heels based on both principle and a bad knee. So, they taught me well.) And, I'm sure a lot of other parents did the same.
So, while I recognize that the lovely lines and slick surface image of renewables will always make for a nice picture, I can't help but someday hope that President Obama or Secretary Chu will pop up at a substation or under a pole transformer or beside some shiny switchgear where he will pose like Vanna White, give a little flourish of a wave toward the technology and earnestly believe in the beauty and sexiness of that equipment---not just in its utilitarian necessity.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Will the Smart Grid Watch You?
"Big Brother is Watching You" is the famous line from Eric Arthur Blair's "1984." (Blair is better known by his pen name, George Orwell, a moniker he enjoyed hiding behind.) I'm sure, when Blair wrote that book, he never realized it would take on such a life of its own.
When I attended ICUEE in Louisville last week, one of the guys in the booth next to me started to quiz me about the smart grid, how he had heard it would let the electric companies control all his power. He was afraid of that, and he tossed out the Orwell line when we discussed the smart grid.
This Big Brother phenomenon started popping up recently in blogs and discussion groups---whether the smart grid will allow people to know your business and pass it along to government authorities. Bob Sullivan, an MSNBC blogger with a spot called "The Red Tape Chronicles" wrote: "Utility companies, by gathering hundreds of billions of data points about us, could reconstruct much of our daily lives."
My honest reaction to all of this Big Brother fear mongering: So what?
Really, what's new about companies knowing everything about us? In this digital society, our business is everybody's business.
Your GPS in your car knows where you've been and where you're going. That information is recorded, and, sometimes, sent back to a "home base" customer service bank in case you call in and they need to locate you or related information.
Your cable TV system/DVR knows what you watch. The cookies on your computer know what you surf on the Internet and transmit that info to companies like Google every time you open that Web browser.
Your debit card records every single item you buy. Your cell phone notes every single number you dial (and where you are). You trust companies to pull regular payments straight from your bank account electronically.
And, if you shop online, you get that information reprocessed for marketing constantly. For example, I added a new high-end face wash product to my Amazon wish list a month ago and am now inundated with e-mails about how I can get that product free if I buy a certain amount of another product.
Face it, we are not put upon by the all powerful; we are not forced to hand over information. In fact, we offer it up. We contribute to "the man" knowing things about our daily lives whenever we are awake, basically. By choice, even. Most of the time, we ignore the potential dangers of this because these are technologies we trust with perks we enjoy (like GPS pinpointing on your cell if your car breaks down or, perhaps, something as innocuous as a coupon direct-marketed to us on our grocery receipt for something we regularly buy).
The smart grid will have significantly less power in your daily life than your debit card or your cell phone as far as personal information is concerned, yet we fear it. Perhaps it is because we've grown used to the debit card and the cell phone and the GPS. I imagine these items all created the same scary thoughts when they surfaced, but we've discovered that our fears were unfounded.
The same will be true with an intelligent electric network. So, to chase away the dark dreams that might be haunting you this Halloween, remember: Your utility will only care about the data that impacts their business, as is the way with any company. No one there will give a rat's patootie if you've got more Christmas lights than your neighbor or if you turn on all your appliances at the same time to create a musical, mechanical choir---just for the fun of it. They only care about the big numbers and the bottom line and how your data feeds into that. Period.
I promise you: We are not Winston Smith, and your power company is not Big Brother. There is no smart grid boogie man.
When I attended ICUEE in Louisville last week, one of the guys in the booth next to me started to quiz me about the smart grid, how he had heard it would let the electric companies control all his power. He was afraid of that, and he tossed out the Orwell line when we discussed the smart grid.
This Big Brother phenomenon started popping up recently in blogs and discussion groups---whether the smart grid will allow people to know your business and pass it along to government authorities. Bob Sullivan, an MSNBC blogger with a spot called "The Red Tape Chronicles" wrote: "Utility companies, by gathering hundreds of billions of data points about us, could reconstruct much of our daily lives."
My honest reaction to all of this Big Brother fear mongering: So what?
Really, what's new about companies knowing everything about us? In this digital society, our business is everybody's business.
Your GPS in your car knows where you've been and where you're going. That information is recorded, and, sometimes, sent back to a "home base" customer service bank in case you call in and they need to locate you or related information.
Your cable TV system/DVR knows what you watch. The cookies on your computer know what you surf on the Internet and transmit that info to companies like Google every time you open that Web browser.
Your debit card records every single item you buy. Your cell phone notes every single number you dial (and where you are). You trust companies to pull regular payments straight from your bank account electronically.
And, if you shop online, you get that information reprocessed for marketing constantly. For example, I added a new high-end face wash product to my Amazon wish list a month ago and am now inundated with e-mails about how I can get that product free if I buy a certain amount of another product.
Face it, we are not put upon by the all powerful; we are not forced to hand over information. In fact, we offer it up. We contribute to "the man" knowing things about our daily lives whenever we are awake, basically. By choice, even. Most of the time, we ignore the potential dangers of this because these are technologies we trust with perks we enjoy (like GPS pinpointing on your cell if your car breaks down or, perhaps, something as innocuous as a coupon direct-marketed to us on our grocery receipt for something we regularly buy).
The smart grid will have significantly less power in your daily life than your debit card or your cell phone as far as personal information is concerned, yet we fear it. Perhaps it is because we've grown used to the debit card and the cell phone and the GPS. I imagine these items all created the same scary thoughts when they surfaced, but we've discovered that our fears were unfounded.
The same will be true with an intelligent electric network. So, to chase away the dark dreams that might be haunting you this Halloween, remember: Your utility will only care about the data that impacts their business, as is the way with any company. No one there will give a rat's patootie if you've got more Christmas lights than your neighbor or if you turn on all your appliances at the same time to create a musical, mechanical choir---just for the fun of it. They only care about the big numbers and the bottom line and how your data feeds into that. Period.
I promise you: We are not Winston Smith, and your power company is not Big Brother. There is no smart grid boogie man.
Friday, October 9, 2009
War on Westar
It's getting chilly here in Tulsa. Normally, in the fall, it's about 77. Today, it will not top 50. I broke out the turtleneck super early. The same weather issue can be said for a bit farther to the north in the great state of Kansas where I grew up. It's been an equally fall-like fall up that way, which prompted an annual conversation with a Topeka-based friend about when to turn on the heat. She told me that she's not turning it on until November, come hell or high water.
"Is it that time of year again?" I asked. "Time for the annual war against Westar?"
You see, a few years ago, my friend had a number of high winter electric bills, due to varying reasons, depending on whether you ask her or ask the energy company. At about the same time, Westar was getting hammered in the news. (Around 2006, Westar CEO David Wittig was sentenced to nearly 20 years for "looting" from the utility; his executive vice president got 15 years. It all centered around inflated pay and benefits that came to light after Wittig left Westar in 2002.)
Now, my friend says, given her lack of a criminal record and Westar's employment of multiple convincted criminals, that her word should be the one believed. But, no matter who is right in the dispute, the final result is: She's holding a grudge.
Every year, she puts off the heat. She layers sweaters and socks. She and her new husband get into a war over the thermostat. (He gets cold, and he hasn't got a personal grudge against Westar. So, he's more willing to turn up the heat.)
In the end, my friend was so angry that she still "fights" the war with Westar with her money---or lack of money---for their services. But, since there are no real options for other electric utilities in her area, that means she freezes. And she's still so angry, years after the fact, that she's more than willing to freeze herself, her tootsies ... and her new hubby ... for those convictions she felt were violated all those years ago.
I'm reminded of this because yesterday a sister magazine here at PennWell specializing in generation, Power Engineering magazine, just named Westar's new Emporia Energy Center as a finalist for their "project of the year" awards.
“Emporia Energy Center has been a great addition to Westar’s fleet of generating plants and an essential component of our Comprehensive Energy Plan,” said Bill Moore, president and chief executive officer when notified of the nomination. “Along with our three wind farms, energy efficiency programs and our high-performing coal, nuclear and other natural gas plants, our Emporia Energy Center is helping Westar meet customer demand at low cost and with a high degree of reliability.”
I sent the note along to my friend still entrenched in her Westar war. Her official response was to blow a raspberry.
It appears that no amount of industry kudos is going to override her personal issues with Westar.
And the battle rages on.
"Is it that time of year again?" I asked. "Time for the annual war against Westar?"
You see, a few years ago, my friend had a number of high winter electric bills, due to varying reasons, depending on whether you ask her or ask the energy company. At about the same time, Westar was getting hammered in the news. (Around 2006, Westar CEO David Wittig was sentenced to nearly 20 years for "looting" from the utility; his executive vice president got 15 years. It all centered around inflated pay and benefits that came to light after Wittig left Westar in 2002.)
Now, my friend says, given her lack of a criminal record and Westar's employment of multiple convincted criminals, that her word should be the one believed. But, no matter who is right in the dispute, the final result is: She's holding a grudge.
Every year, she puts off the heat. She layers sweaters and socks. She and her new husband get into a war over the thermostat. (He gets cold, and he hasn't got a personal grudge against Westar. So, he's more willing to turn up the heat.)
In the end, my friend was so angry that she still "fights" the war with Westar with her money---or lack of money---for their services. But, since there are no real options for other electric utilities in her area, that means she freezes. And she's still so angry, years after the fact, that she's more than willing to freeze herself, her tootsies ... and her new hubby ... for those convictions she felt were violated all those years ago.
I'm reminded of this because yesterday a sister magazine here at PennWell specializing in generation, Power Engineering magazine, just named Westar's new Emporia Energy Center as a finalist for their "project of the year" awards.
“Emporia Energy Center has been a great addition to Westar’s fleet of generating plants and an essential component of our Comprehensive Energy Plan,” said Bill Moore, president and chief executive officer when notified of the nomination. “Along with our three wind farms, energy efficiency programs and our high-performing coal, nuclear and other natural gas plants, our Emporia Energy Center is helping Westar meet customer demand at low cost and with a high degree of reliability.”
I sent the note along to my friend still entrenched in her Westar war. Her official response was to blow a raspberry.
It appears that no amount of industry kudos is going to override her personal issues with Westar.
And the battle rages on.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
LIVE from ICUEE: What Smart Grid?
I was sent to the ICUEE show for another magazine (UTILITY PRODUCTS), not POWERGRID International. However, I have been positively amazed that what is the happening, hot topic at grid shows is getting little-to-no attention here in Kentucky.
It's as if the smart grid means nothing.
Perhaps, to these people, it does. ICUEE is a show that specializes in equipment: bucket trucks, construction products, switchgear, cabling. It usually pulls in around 15,000 people every two years. (Current numbers seem to be topping that, according to the show management.) And, when I got to the show yesterday morning, there was, indeed, a registration line that snaked through the lobby. A very popular little event.
Scratch that: A very popular BIG event.
But, an event with exactly one smart gird session, a 3:30 pm on Tuesday track titled "Getting Smart About the Smart Grid." It had a slew of good people from EnerNex, the GridWise Alliance, Duke Energy, GE, CISCO, the NRECA (National Rural Electric Co-op Association). It was, hands-down, the most well-rounded session on the ICUEE agenda. (Most other sessions were product-oriented or had a single speaker.)
Earlier in the day, I had attended a fleet management session with 53 people. So, I got to the smart grid one early to stake out a seat. But, how many showed up for this wave of the grid future? 18.
Wow. Maybe we need to push some of that smart grid stimulus money toward advertising. If last year is an indication, there were almost 15,000 people around and about at that show and the smart grid could only bring 18 into the room.
I admit it. I was floored. As someone who has lived and breathed the smart grid since Austin Energy's CIO coined the term in 2007, I couldn't believe this lack of interest from the very people we'll be counting on to support the grid. Perhaps that's the rub, though. They're not stakeholders in the process. They're not building the smart grid itself, per se. Instead, they're in charge of fixing cable or testing switchgear---examining and repairing the infrastructure backbone of the newly forming smart grid.
My question remains, though: Is it important that every level of a utility be excited about smart grid? Do we need even the bucket truck operators and the linemen to be vocal voices for a better, more intelligent grid? Are we missing a big piece of the picture by not getting everyone from the CEO the vegetation management chemical sprayer involved in promoting and believing in the smart grid?
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