Dive Summary:
- Zpryme's new smart grid report, Summary of U.S. Smart Grid Investment Grant Impact Analysis, extracts key findings from four interim impact studies by the Department of Energy to show the implementation of certain grid technologies cut down on outage times, energy demand and utility costs.
- The installation of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) technologies axed utilities' costs of servicing meters by 13% to 77% and cut their vehicle transportation costs down by 12% to 59%.
- When utilities used critical peak pricing and programmable thermostats, the studies observed a 25% to 37% drop in electricity demand.
- When utilities used automated control to enhance distribution systems, power losses were minimized by 0% to 5% and peak demand was lowered by 1% to 2.5%.
From the press release:
"... Although these results are promising, after obtaining the full array of data from all 99 projects, a more complete set of findings will provide better insights into the impact of the various technologies. Nevertheless, the investments reflect substantial potential savings in electricity consumption for U.S. citizens. [...]
The preliminary impact reports provide utilities in the U.S. with data they can use to benchmark the benefits received from their respective smart grid deployments. Further, the data offer utilities a reference point when they are making the business case for investments in smart grid technologies. However, Zpryme expects the aggregate benefits from smart grid deployments to increase as more utilities near full deployment status. In conclusion, the impact reports strongly reinforce the concept that an advanced and intelligent electric grid can yield positive economic and societal benefits when done in a timely, scalable, and cost effective manner. ..."