Autovation shows innovation

The D.C. suburb of National Harbor saw a lot of action this week as exhibitors and attendees of Autovation descended upon the Gaylord National to discuss the automated side of the utility equation.

Autovation is run by Utilimetrics, an association with the goal of bringing together “diverse stakeholders of electricity, water and gas distribution utilities to promote and share best practices for smart grid/smart metering, communications, utility automation and data management.”

Autovation is now in its 24th year and, this week, it offered a bevy of options from breakfast with utility peers to big picture sessions on today’s hottest power topics.

A couple of utilities opened and closed the week. Pepco Holdings revealed how they are taking a look at new technologies and transmission projects, even chatting up the smart grid, in the opening session. Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) closed the show painting a picture of the perfect smart energy home, which could include smart meters, demand response options, energy efficient appliances and other “killer applications” of smart grid technology.

And smart tech did end up in interesting spots at the show. While AMI and communications have always been an Autovation staple---and is now a smart grid one as well and should be, given the need for those items---electric vehicles (EVs) got their own series of sessions this year at the show, a whole track, even. Topics ranged from managing the distribution system impacts to identification of utility and customer issues with EVs. (Last year, Deloitte predicted that EVs and other alternative fuel/green would be a third of global sales by 2020. J.D. Powers, on the other hand specifically hailed EVs at a whopping 3.5 percent by 2015. Whichever prediction wins, EVs have certainly garnered a lot of conference attention this week.)

My favorite Autovation session, by far, featured Portland General Electric (PGE) insiders Eric Spack and Steve Sprague who revealed how the utility is using new meter tech to not just examine revenue protection but to bust pot growers in the area who are stealing a whole lot of power. The packed session was treated to some fabulous shots of home nurseries found and local news reports on PGE’s work. (And how often do you get to hear a speaker admit that his favorite part of the presentation is the marijuana part that will come later? Not too often, and it got some good chuckles.)

In other Autovation news, Hydro One and San Diego Gas and Electric were award winners at the show this year. Hydro One received the 2011 Excellence in Project Management Award for its smart meter deployment in Ontario. These days, almost all of Hydro One’s customers have smart meters and over a million have switched to time-of-use pricing. San Diego Gas and Electric won the 2011 Consumer Outreach Award for the utility’s smart metering program and its communications plan to keep the consumer in the loop.

In the downtime between sessions and awards, breakfasts and receptions, attendees could visit the Autovation show floor which featured both industry staples like Elster, Aclara and Itron and niche companies like Mad Dash and Ecologic Analytics.

Communications and open standards provider SmartSynch announced a major contract at the show. Michigan’s Consumers Energy has chosen the company to provide the metering system for the utility’s modernization program, to the tune of 1.8 million electric customers.

“As we develop our program, it will allow us to offer new options to customers and allow them to use our system to integrate new technology---such as smart appliances and plug-in electric vehicles---into their daily lives,” Consumers Energy President and CEO John Russell said in a release about the SmartSynch partnership.

Those EVs were just popping up everywhere at Autovation, I swear.

Next year’s Autovation is scheduled for Sept. 30-Oct. 2 in the hometown of the Queen Mary, Long Beach, California.