New Smart Grid Resources

Is your community one of the dozens implementing American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) funded smart grid initiatives? Public Power service territories have been awarded nearly $700 million in funding to support smart grid initiatives through the Smart Grid Implementation and Demonstration Programs (see grant recipients); and still more are pursuing smart-grid projects through other buckets of ARRA funds such as the new loan authority for Bonneville Power and Western Area Power Authority for transmission projects or Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants (a complete recap of stimulus funding opportunities for Smart Grid is available in Smart Grid News' Stimulus Tool Kit).

To assist implementers and other Smart Grid stakeholders, the Department of Energy (DOE) recently launched a beta version of a new Smart Grid Information Clearinghouse (SGIC), developed by Virginia Tech. The SGIC provides information on technologies, standards, rules, use cases, training and other best practices for smart grid technologies. Another goal of the Web site is to collect comments and suggestions from the smart grid community and the public about application, research and development of smart grid technologies. The fully operational site is anticipated this fall.

This newer resource compliments SmartGrid.gov, an information portal for tracking federally funded Smart Grid projects. Here, stakeholders including consumers, utilities, technology providers, regulators, environmental groups and policy makers, can also order free copies of tailored reference guides to learn more about Smart Grid basics. Many utilities have found these guides useful in helping them to craft messaging to communicate with their own constituents about Smart Grid.

The American Public Power Association (APPA) is also expanding its Smart Grid resources. Currently, APPA is working to develop a comprehensive picture of the public power industry's efforts in this domain. Over the summer, APPA conducted a survey to determine how public power utilities are using smart grid technologies. Stay tuned for results and plan to attend APPA's Smart Grid Summit being planned for later this year.

CEEP is seeking to add case studies about aspects of Smart Grid program planning and implementation, based on your experiences. If you have a story to share, please contact us!