Public Power - October 2008 - (Page 52)

HOMETOWN CONNECTIONS Making the Business Case for Smart Grid Investments By Susan Ryba Mass., Gas & Electric began the construction of a citywide, SONET-based fiber optic network in 1994. The goal was to build a system capable of supporting core utility operations with the potential of providing retail cable television, telephone, and Internet services. Over the years, WG&E has been successful in using the fiber system to support internal telecommunication requirements for utility services and in providing retail telecom services to select commercial locations. Today, WG&E is working with the consulting team at Uptown Services to build out the network from the backbone and closer to the end-user premises, to resolve the “last mile” dilemma of delivering interactive, two-way communications services to every home and business. WG&E is among the growing number of public power utilities bringing in Uptown Services to determine how best to extend the communications backbone to customer locations in order to provide broadband communications, AMI and smart grid applications. “We take the smart grid concept as an inevitable paradigm change to the consumption, distribution and procurement of energy services,” said Thomas W. Balukonis, information systems/telecommunications manager, WG&E. “Consumers will demand consumption control, and distributors will need to accommodate alternative energy providers.” Uptown Services was selected as the 52 OCTOBER 2008 Westfield, telecommunications consulting vendor to assist WG&E in evaluating available technologies that will extend the reach of its current telecommunications facilities and support smart grid applications. In affiliation with Hometown Connections, Uptown Services provides consulting, engineering and implementation support services to municipalities and utilities considering the use of broadband technology for internal and/or commercial purposes. Uptown Services has worked with more than 45 public power utilities to determine the best technology platforms for integrated SCADA, AMI, and smart grid applications, as well as the potential success of retail broadband services. Uptown Services operates as a neutral assessor of utility challenges and opportunities. WG&E’s initial contract with Uptown Service was for a comprehensive telecommunications strategic assessment detailing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Since the initial study, WG&E has incorporated a number of utility telecommunication applications including high-speed data services, SCADA integration, facility security, video surveillance, and a limited number of commercial service applications. Subsequent Uptown engagements have focused on evaluating technologies that would allow WG&E to extend the reach of its fiber optic backbone deeper into its distribution system and closer to customer premises. WG&E is taking the approach that the smart grid initiates from the customer meters, back to the transformers, and then to the individual circuits. The ability to remotely monitor and automatically control energy flow will provide for a more efficient, reliable, and safe distribution system. WG&E is working with Uptown Services on evaluating fiber to the premises (FTTP) as a technology to get the utility closer to customer locations and then integrating wireless, broadband over power lines, and direct fiber connections to customers. For the Concord, Mass., Municipal Light Plant, Uptown Services conducted a FTTP feasibility study in 2002, but the city determined that the cost for extending its fiber ring to each home would be prohibitive. Since then, the company has helped Concord evaluate wireless and BPL solutions and updated the FTTP study. Uptown Services is helping Concord with a smart grid pilot that is testing demand response capabilities for water heaters and air conditioners using addressable relays and smart thermostats. They are also testing the ability of the BPL system to provide Internet and voice services, using a combination of end user testers, Wi-Fi access points, and traffic cameras on the same system. The pilot is concentrating on how smart grid technology might help Concord run its operation in the future. “The team at Uptown Services knows us, and the Concord Municipal Light Board trusts principals Neil Shaw and Dave Stockton to serve as honest brokers,” said Keith Ingram, telecommunications coordinator, CMLP. “The firm is vendor neutral and does not deliver only rosy scenarios. We trust Uptown Services to help us make the right communications technology and business planning decisions.” Dover, Ohio, came to know Uptown Services through its affiliation with Hometown Connections. With a fiber backbone system in place, the city first hired Uptown Services in 2004 to measure customer interest in, and costs of, deploying an FTTP system. “We really liked Uptown’s survey of our residential and commercial customers,” said Mayor Richard P. Homrighausen. “It was not skewed toward the city, and we were encouraged by results supporting the utility as providing Internet, entertainment and voice services.” While the costs in 2005 were too prohibitive to proceed with FTTP then, the city of Dover recently asked Uptown Services to update the survey and the results are more favorable this time. The business models are stronger and include AMI and demand-side management/ smart grid services in the application mix. Uptown studied AMI over FTTP by comparing the cost per read for the current meter reading process (handheld manual entry) and AMI using FTTP over a 20-year horizon and found the broadband case to be very compelling. T Susan Ryba handles marketing for Hometown Connections. PUBLIC POWER

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Public Power - October 2008

Public Power - October 2008 Contents Perspective 10 Questions The Future of Fuels in a Carbon-Constrained World An Energy Revolution Energy Policy in 2009 and Beyond A Green Reincarnation Beyond the Green Bandwagon Reliability Green Energy Community Broadband Customer Service Hometown Connections Human Resources Parting Shot

Public Power - October 2008

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