North American power system needs renewal

• 12 years ago (2011-05-04)
• David Flin

North America 998 Renewables 752

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The Ontario Smart Grid Forum has released a report that states that the North American power system is aging and is in need of urgent upgrading. It claimed that the current grid was only designed for one-way delivery of power from large generators to consumers.

The report noted that the future grid will need to accommodate: “the future charging of millions of electric vehicles, the variable generation of thousands of wind turbines, or the electricity from thousands of rooftop solar systems scattered across the province. Some grid automation and renewal has happened, but the majority of investment is still to come.” To that end, the report argued that there is a need for greater coordination to ensure that: “these future investments are made responsibly and in the best interests of residential, commercial, institutional and industrial ratepayers.”

Ontario is the first North American municipality to deploy a smart meter to every home and small business, thereby enabling, the Forum believes, the widespread introduction of time-of-use (TOU) pricing that better reflects the true cost of power generation. The Forum also believes that as more consumers adjust their usage towards off-peak power times, this will lead to more efficient use of existing grid infrastructure and generating assets. Similarly, an increasing number of commercial and industrial facilities are lowering their peak-time electricity consumption by participating in demand-response programmes, which reduces the need for building new power plants.

The suggestions made in the report include:

• The Ontario Ministry of Energy conducting an annual survey to assess consumer interest in smart home technologies.
• Establishing an economic development task force to capitalise on innovation.
• Have the Ontario Ministry of Transportation track electric vehicle registration and provide this information to utilities.
• Develop a framework to promote the development of energy storage within distribution networks.
• Track all smart-grid related complaints regarding the use of personal electricity consumption.