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.