Live from DistribuTECH: The Word on the Floor

Yesterday, Tuesday, marked the first day of DistribuTECH in Tampa, Florida. I had a lot of meetings and, by the end of the day, very sore feet. But, I loved getting the buzz from industry insiders on what's happening, what's new, what's the future of the T&D side of our industry.

Perhaps my favorite statement came from a vendor who was chatting about the wave of smart grid buzz, how smart grid was "the next big thing" not because of its fabulous awesomeness---though it does, of course, offer fabulous awesomeness---but because it gives a lot of government green, a good hefty ton of bucks.

"A lot of utilities were already putting in smarter meters and communications systems before smart grid terminology came along," he said. "But, utilities are like hound dogs. They sniffed out that cash. So, many of them put a halt on their programs, waited for the funding and then restarted with the government paying for half."

Very savvy, really. Super good utility finance planning, but it rather pops the bubble of smart grid as the next big thing because of a wave of progress and government intervention. It was creeping in all along, according to our vendor informant.

Other places on the floor I heard a number of new buzzwords that have tangential dealings with smart grid, but that also seemed to be starting a new trend. First and foremost: Interoperability.

Doug Voda with ABB discussed the company's interoperability work at length when I sat down with him, along discussions with their partnerships with speciality vendors to help them expand their offerings. Cooperation and integration were two items I heard repeatedly yesterday. But, Doug started that ball rolling, and I loved that he spoke of the end of the battle between DNP 3 and IEC 61850.

"With interoperability truly in the game, with plug and play technology actually available right now, that war is over, that battle is good and dead," he said.

Today marks the second day of DistribuTECH 2010, the 20th anniversary of the show. I wonder if the talk about interoperability and vendor partnerships will continue.

Transmission: The Smart Grid's Ugly Stepsister

I spoke on the phone today to a consultant doing research into transmission issues. My first statement to him was, "That must be hard info to find." He chuckled and replied, "It's all about the smart grid these days, isn't it?"

Indeed it is. And the smart grid is, let's face it, all about distribution. All those communication technologies, gadgets and gizmos mostly lie at the end of those lines: in substations and in family homes. Relative to the size of our very vast, very large power grid, the smart grid evolution is happening in small little urban pockets, leaving vast stretches of archaic and aging transmission lines to, once again, carry a heavier load---if you'll pardon the pun I just couldn't resist.

Now, there is some smart grid on the transmission side of things, mostly when we discuss linking up large-scale renewables, but the bulk of the smart grid---and the bulk of the technology that adds up to all that smart grid money and marketing---well, that stuff is on the downstream end of electricity.

Transmission has always been the workhorse in the power equation: It does most of the hard labor, goes the farthest distance, doesn't shirk too much of the weight and gets the job done. Of course, until the smart grid came along, distribution was pretty much pulling on the same yoke. But, these days, the smart grid is a sexy cultural buzzword, a virtual power Cinderella, and transmission is still the ugly stepsister---unattractive and mostly forgotten.

Granted, transmission is necessary. You can't have distribution without it. But, that doesn't mean transmission will get the attention or the investment it really deserves. It's basic human nature to be dazzled by the Cindys and not the sisters. When we eat a banana, do we think about the fellow who picked it or the company that shipped it or the stocker that placed it on the store table? When we watch movies, we get dazzled by the stars but never wonder about the computer techs, the animators, the writers or the sound technicians involved. Or, here on our series of PennWell websites, we might enjoy the information and details available but not think about the editors who hunt, gather and post it daily. (Go Jeff Postelwait, our fabulous online editor for POWERGRID International and Electric Light and Power magazines. Here's a shout out to you.)

Perhaps we should all learn to follow the flow backwards a bit better, to think farther up the value chain than we do and give credit to the workhorses that enable all the shiny, sexy bits we're dazzled by. In our industry, this means more mulling of transmission and all it brings us. Let's ponder.

DistribuTECH's Right Around the Corner

Running March 23-25, 2010 at the Tampa Convention Center, DistribuTECH covers the smart grid from end to end. As I write this, my schedule for the three-day event is almost full. Thank goodness I finally had the good sense to block off some time for lunches, or exhibitors may find me stealing all their good candy---candy they usually like to sit out for potential clients. But, what's a starving editor to do?

Celebrating 20 years, DistribuTECH knew the grid before it was smart, and it continues to lead the way in information exchange and utility education. I'm rather proud of the "We knew the grid before it was smart" angle, since that was my tagline idea. Beyond the awesome tagline though, from instructional Utility University courses to experts delivering the latest industry details, DistribuTECH is bringing a lot of experience to Florida in March.

DistribuTECH 2010 will officially kick off with an opening keynote session on Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at 8:30 a.m. The keynote will feature Gordon Gillette, president of DistribuTECH host utility Tampa Electric Co., and Dave Barry, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist. And, the newest edition to the keynote is grid guru Katherine Hamilton.

Katherine Hamilton is president of the GridWise Alliance. She joined GridWise after being the policy advisor for Good Energies, Inc., a private investment company with a current portfolio in clean energy technologies of more than $6 billion. Hamilton was previously co-director of the American Bioenergy Association where, in addition to advocating for clean uses of biomass for power and fuels, she advised the Governor of New Jersey on the biomass components for a state renewable portfolio standard.

After the keynote, the conference itself opens for business with a bevy of learning opportunities. Sessions are broken down into related tracks, including: advanced metering, customer service, demand response, distribution automation, enterprise information and asset management, mobile and geospatial solutions, renewables and the grid, SCADA, substation automation, engineering and the transmission track. (The renewables and the grid track is new this year to DistribuTECH, and we look forward to it become a staple of the DistribuTECH conference line-up.)

Despite all the great options for education, DistribuTECH is not all learning and no play. There are plenty of social opportunities to just sit and visit with colleagues, acquaintances and new friends. An opening reception will be held on the floor on Tuesday, March 23, 2010 from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. A second exhibit floor reception follows on Wednesday, March 24, 2010. That reception, called "It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere," will run from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the sponsors' booths right before DistribuTECH throws a bash to celebrate its 20th anniversary from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

If attendees would like to mix networking with a bit of learning, DistribuTECH offers a number of breakfast roundtables, as well as a breakfast keynote. These roundtable discussions provide an excellent opportunity to network with peers and meet industry experts while taking in a hearty meal. Roundtables with specific industry topics will be moderated by leading professionals in each field. Well, one year a roundtable was hosted by me, but we won't hold that against all the other pros who chat up the breakfast roundtables.

Besides the fabulous conference sessions and networking opportunities at DistribuTECH, attendees also have the change to visit the show's large exhibit floor, which featured over 300 exhibitors in 2009. Plus, one popular part of the show and exhibit floor attendance at DistribuTECH is the car giveaway, which will be continued in 2010. This year, someone will drive away in a new Chevrolet Camaro. Sadly, I am not eligible to win the Camaro, which is awfully sad. I was hoping to live out my old 1980s TV Simon and Simon fantasies. (Remember, the cute one on Simon and Simon drove a couple of Camaros. Am I dating myself here? Probably. Good show, though.)

Back to the important show stuff: DistribuTECH 2009 in San Diego brought a record number of people to the bayside conference center in San Diego with nearly 5,800 attendees and more than 300 exhibiting companies. In 2010, DistribuTECH is expected to break that record with nearly 6,200 professionals expected to grace the halls of the Tampa Convention Center. With such a wide range of conference sessions, exposition and networking opportunities and even the change to win a Camaro (and pretend to be the cute one from Simon and Simon), DistribuTECH 2010 promises to brighten up Tampa with a number of powerful, interesting options for attendees this March.

I hope to see you there.

Smart Grid? Where? What? Huh?

Apparently, we're a clueless bunch of cocoanuts. A recent Harris poll boldly announced that 68 percent of Americans have never even heard of the smart grid.

My first reaction to that statement: "Really?" According to the results: 57 percent of U.S. adults in the survey watch their power consumption and 67 percent say they would reduce their usage if they had visibility to it. But most still have no concept of the smart grid that would help them do that.

Want to know more about the Harris poll? Click here.

When I say we're a clueless bunch, I don't mean the average American in that Harris poll, I mean those of us inside the power industry. We've been talking amongst ourselves, amongst politicians, amongst vendors for years about smart grid. We've dissected it, analyzed it, spent money on it, marketed it, given it lip service, heralded it as the next big thing, and built it a very tall and cushy pedestal. But, how much have we spent, as a group, in time and money, to inform the average consumer about the benefits of a smart grid?

Want more info on the smart grid? Click here.

On the upside of this poll, those familiar with the concept of a smart grid seemed to, mostly, see it as a good thing, although over half believed their cost of power would increase once all the technology is in place.

I can support that with a little story of my own, actually. Since I work in this industry, my family is a lot more aware of industry insider trading: talk about meters, smart grid, etc. So, my mother is always super excited to have something to contribute, rather than just listening. On the phone on Sunday, she did the classic urban legend "friend of a friend of a friend" got a smart meter tale. And, guess what happened? Their bill just, like, doubled. Or tripled. Or quadrupled. Or skyrocketed. It really depends on the version that you hear.

Now, I am sure that some people, when getting a new and shiny meter to replace their older one, will notice a change. And, if that old meter is favoring them, it will not be a positive change in their eyes. However, for most, smart grids and smart meters make it all work better, faster, more efficiently. But, isn't it interesting that we don't hear anything about smart grids and smart meters bringing us savings from the consumer side of things? We do hear that mantra from vendors, of course. But, the stories passed inside to me from my mother and other outside sources is always how expensive this technology will be to the customer.

Perhaps this Harris poll is giving us a shining light, a path to follow. The people we need to most convince about the positives of the smart grid aren't industry insiders, vendors, utilities or renewables advocates. Nope. It's the people who control that light switch at the dead end of this business. About smart grids, it seems, they are still primarily in the dark.