Three Reasons Utilities Should Upgrade Grid Communications
As utilities review impactful projects for the future, they can benefit from considering a transformative initiative with a record of creating value for stakeholders: upgrading grid communications.
This smart grid communications push has the potential to strengthen utility grid performance in key areas such as reliability and affordability, as well as contributing to economic development. This movement goes hand in hand with the restructuring of the global electrical system, an undertaking the World Economic Forum estimates will create $2.4 trillion in value over the next 10 years for consumers and businesses alike.
But since such overhauls are massive endeavors, requiring serious capital expenditures and significant project management expertise, utilities can gain from closely studying the cause-and-effect of grid communications upgrades. Below is a quick list of some benefits utilities will likely cite when making a case for an upgrade.
Increased Reliability. One key achievement of the modern communications grid is its ability to help utilities collect, share and analyze data on storms and other events to predict outages. That’s according to a Department of Energy report that identifies how tech savvy communications grids empower utilities to harness data analytics in a way never seen before. Indeed, the DOE has fully documented how modern grid communications help utilities move more quickly and agilely in restoring power and predicting future weaknesses. “These capabilities can be extended to include the assessment and prediction of compromised assets resulting from a cyber incident,” the DOE report states.
Rate Affordability. Utilities have already begun passing on real savings to consumers following grid communications upgrades. In a press release, Florida Light & Power has cited how a $800 million investment in grid modernization, including communications, has helped the firm keep “customers’ bills low” while giving rate payers ‘unprecedented” control over usage. “Customers with activated smart meters can see their energy use by the hour, day and month on their ‘Energy Dashboard,’” the company said in a release.
Additionally, the World Economic Forum expects the development of smart grids to expedite increased savings in the future as consumers become more engaged on how systems work. This should all help to strengthen the relationships individuals have with their local utility, and help them better understand the benefits of utility grid upgrades.
Economic Development. As governments compete for scarce investment from the private sector, a strong pitch used to lure business is electric grid reliability. And regions with utilities boasting smart grid expertise are poised to have a stronger advantage in attracting new capital – a trend that ultimately helps utilities developer a larger underlying customer base. They also may be better positioned to root out money-losing practices. As the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation points out, communications grid upgrades can help reduce “the immense cost of power outages for American consumers and businesses.” Overall, the 2003 blackout in Eastern American resulted in up to $10 billion in economic losses for that region and Canada.
Meanwhile, as the World Economic Forum notes, investments in modern grid technology, including communications systems, can help break down social-economic barriers by making energy easier to access to small businesses and startups. As the WEF study states, “Society will benefit from a cleaner generation mix, net creation of new jobs related to the deployment of these technologies and a larger choice for consumers.”
While all these areas have their strong positives, they are just a start, as multiple other benefits can also be reaped from these investments, ranging from healthier customer engagement to stronger cyber-security protections. And through it all, utilities will have the peace of mind of knowing they are going above and beyond for the very communities that will shape their future.