2 Problems with Current Grid

LOSSES

The current grid results in losses of around 9% between a remote generation site (such as a coal plant) and a consumer.  In addition, the average coal plant is only about 34% efficient in converting burning coal to electricity and natural gas is 45% efficient in converting burning gas to electricity (Koutitas 27).   A smart grid allows for the generation of power closer to or at the consumer’s locale.  It also allows for better management of renewable generation.

OUTAGES

According to the Energy Information Association, customers experienced an average of 1.3 interruptions and went without power for four hours during the year 2016.   A smart grid allows a utility to detect the range of an outage almost instantaneously which helps to shorten the time it takes to restore power to a given area.

VARIABLE PRODUCTION DUE TO ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES

Photo of wind turbine on Kirkwood Community College Campus

The traditional grid is not able to adapt to the intermittent nature of solar and wind energy.   As can be seen from this table from the U.S. Energy Information Agency renewables and natural gas are growing while coal is shrinking.  Furthermore, it can also be seen that wind and solar are growing substantially.  From the intermittent nature of wind and solar, more control of the demand side of the grid is needed to maximize the usage of renewably generated electricity which can be achieved through the smart grid.  An example of the intermittent nature of solar can be seen in the graph below of solar output from one rooftop solar installation in Iowa City, Iowa.

CONSUMER CHOICE AND CONTROL

The traditional grid allows consumers almost no choices over their electrical energy generation and few tools to analyze their usage.  A smart grid allows for an analysis of customer utility data so that a customer can see where they can potentially save energy.  This data also can be used in troubleshooting customer complaints or high usage incidents.  Furthermore, a smart grid offers the possibility for customers to choose a utility provider or other billing options besides once a month (such as demand-based billing).

Works Cited
Koutitas, George, and Stan McClellan. The Smart Grid As an Application Development Platform. Artech House, 2017.

Thompson, Kristy. “Smart Grid: A Beginner’s Guide.” NIST, 21 Nov. 2019, https://www.nist.gov/el/smart-grid/about-smart-grid/smart-grid-beginners-guide.