Background
Advances in modern technology have seen innovation in the energy industry that seeks to make energy cheaper as well as environmental friendly. One of the ways of achieving energy efficiency and environmental protection is the implementation of the smart grid. The smart grid has the capability of modernizing the transmission of electricity which benefits both energy suppliers and consumers. Because it is emerging technology, the benefits of the smart grid have not been widely documented. Saving energy saves the environment and the adoption of any means that achieve this fit is critical to a more cleaner and renewable energy planet.
The important of the smart grid lies in its potential to augment energy savings measures as well as other advances in technology that seeks to wean individuals off fossil fuels or other energy sources that have can destroy the environment. It also allows for an enhanced awareness of energy use which makes the consumer more active in making energy decisions not only for their household but also the whole nations and in the end the entire planet. It is a general understanding that individuals want to save for the future and the smart grid when managed well provides an opportunity for energy savings.
It is also important to know what a smart grid looks like. Massoud gives the most apt description of the smart grid. He notes that it “consists of a series of independent small power systems or micro grids, linked to a stronger high-voltage power grid backbone (2013). The process of implementing the smart grid is rife with advanced computer technology. For the performance to be effective, the smart grid need software sensors that are secure. It was requires processors that are fast and a networking system that is efficient. The network allows for the communication of transmissions and the control of power usage.
Pros of the Smart Grid Policy
The first reason why a smart grip policy needs to be implemented is related to the problem with the old grid identified earlier. The national grid is more than a 100 years old and cost billions to maintain every year. This high cost affect taxpayers the most that are forced to pay more money each year because the current grid is not sustainable.
A second reason for smart grid policy is that the infrastructure available today was built or last effectively maintained in the 1970s. As Massoud notes, of all major sectors of the U.S. economy, it is the electricity industry that lags behind in research and development. Only 0.17% of proceeds from electricity supply go towards research and development. This is made worse by the fact that organizations like the World Economic Forum ranks the power infrastructure in the United States at number 20 as compared to other industrialized nations. This means that the electricity infrastructure overhaul has been due for decades now and the United States cannot afford to have bad power infrastructure and still claim to the most powerful nation on earth. The solution to modernizing the national grid is the smart grid.
The potential of the smart grid also lies in the advances in energy needs. The advent of smartphones and the social media means that humans are using more energy today than ever. There is a desperate need for energy to be conserved and used in a smart manner so that an energy or electricity crisis does not occur. Massoud argues that new developments in technology such as the constant use of social media increases the demand for energy by more than 2, 500megawatt hours on a world scale. This together with other home power usages such as microwaves, video streaming and gaming increases the demand for electricity, a demand that the national grid in its state right now cannot meet.
One of the most critical reasons to adopt a smart grid policy is the grid’s potential to help customers makes informed decisions about their power usages. Consumers can turn off unwanted appliances as well as control electric demand. If they can lower the demand, the competition from suppliers becomes more intense thereby helping consumers in the long run. Policymakers want to be able to take credit in relieving families from the burden of bills. A reduction of the electrical bill is goes a long way in making sure that families get relief. According to Massoud, “smart grids can measure when consumers use most power, allowing utility providers to charge variable rates according to supply and demand” (2013).
Cons of the Smart Grid
Like any other policy proposal, the smart-grid has its own advantages. Chief among them is its vulnerability to attack. Security remains a major issue to the implementation of smart grid technology (Bari et al., 2014). There is no guarantee that a cyber-attack won't happen on a smart grid network. Because it relies on computer technology, the smart grid can be hacked the way computers are hacked resulting in the compromising of customer data and energy supply. Jia, Thomas and Tong observed that there are two kinds of attacks that can be made on the smart grid.
The first one is the strong attack regime whereby adversaries attack “a sufficient number of meters so that the network state becomes unobservable by the control center” (2011, p. 645). The other attack which is labeled the weak attack regime is composed of the control of a few meters by adversaries. It is argued that in smart grid technology it is not selfish misbehavior that is the problem but large scale malicious behavior and that cripple the whole infrastructure set up. Because of the importance of power in everyday life all these problems need to be efficiently dealt with before the grid is implemented especially at the federal level.
Current Status in American Politics
The United States’s national electric grid system has effectively served the nation for more than a century. Just like the internet, car and telecommunication technology the grid needs rapid changes and innovation for it to be able to sustain the future of the United States. According to the United States Department of Energy, the smart grid has the potential to enhance future energy outcomes. At the turn of the 21st century there were “41% more outages affecting 50, 000 or more consumers than in the first half of the decade (1990s)” (Energy). The cost of electrical interruptions is very high amounting to more than $150 billion each year and that amount is almost like $500 of individual savings spent on maintaining the failing grid.
Besides the fact that the national electric grid is failing, it has also contributed to the rise in electricity prices at a time when people are just recovering from a devastating economic recession. The U.S. demand for power is growing at a very fast rate. Researches predictions show that energy demand with grow by at least 30% in the year 2030 (U.S. Department of Energy). This kind of growth demands that the United States spend trillions of dollars on energy alone. The challenges in the electrical energy sector have been more complicated by the fact that although electric power fuels all technological innovations, it is the one sector that has not performed well in terms of research and development and the update of the grid system to modern changes.
In addition, extreme weather conditions have made the maintenance of the old grid very expensive. Snow blizzards and storms like Hurricane Sandy of 2012 and Hurricane Katrina of 2005 caused power disruptions that cost billions of dollars. It is estimated that costs from storms and other bad weather conditions reach $188 billion per year (Massoud 2013).
One of the solutions to the problems identified above is the complete overhaul of the grid system into a smart grid. The grid has the capacity to improve infrastructure while also making it possible for consumers to afford electricity and contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions. The U.S. Department of Energy reports that in the recession period of 2007-08, more than 20% of American families were faced with electricity challenges that included disconnections due to failure to pay bills and the failure of the grid.
Alternatives
There are viable solutions to the national grid problem that might not need the smart grid. The smart grid demands investments in research and development which is not met in the meantime by the United States government. Viable options include less interconnected systems. Consumers can resort to energy monitors that are not connected to the grid. These would be cheaper on the consumers and the government.
My position
I believe that the future of American economic and political power lies in the ability to take control of energy resources. Congress should consider the smart grid as the most viable alternative to a more energy efficient and sustainable future. The cost that is involved in research and development will be offset by the ability to save more. Considering the fact that Congress is less popular now, one of the actions it can take to improve its image in the eyes of the American people is to take an aggressive stance on the energy issue. The smart grid together with renewable energy must become the energy of the future for the United States. It is also the first step towards global leadership in the fight against global warming. The burning of fossil fuels especially coal for electricity should become a thing of the past. The United States has the capacity to improve its infrastructure to suit its global leadership position. The fact that it is ranked at number 20 on electricity infrastructure means that it needs new ways to deal with electricity problems and the best way is the smart grid. Like all technologies, it has it costs but they will be less than the benefits.
April 18, 2016.
The Honorable Senator Kelly Ayotte
144 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D. C. 20510
Dear U.S. Representative/Senator Kelly Ayotte,
A recent spate of severe weather conditions has got me concerned as a resident of the state of New Hampshire. The continued change in weather patterns has families losing their homes to snow blizzards, hurricanes and tornados which is heartbreaking. It is worse when families lose power during the winter to storms. In cases like these, it is the old and children who suffer the most. I believe that every family deserves reliable and efficient power supply. As a community member and representative of the state of New Hampshire, I am sure you share the same concerns with me. You would like families to have reliable power as well as be able to save a little after paying their bills.
Research has shown that the current US national power grid is old and getting expensive to maintain. Most families are still recovering from the economic recession of 2007-08. They are unable to afford electricity rate hikes. As it stands, if nothing is done the nation would lose billions of dollars and the maintenance of the grid would become more expensive. The burden would go to taxpayers. As you know this is not the time to be raising taxes on already struggling families. Families and individuals should be able to actively monitor their electricity use in real-time. If they manage to do so, they save more money that can be used to cover other essential parts of their lives.
I ask that you support the Smart Grid Initiative NB 543. In supporting this bill you will be making a huge contribution to individual savings and provision of efficient power. This is also an opportunity to add on your Clean Power Plan. I think your plan is a good first step in addressing energy and environmental issues. I however believe that with the Smart Grid Initiative you can further advance the goods of environmental conservation while making sure that families get extra money in their pocket. The smart grid will place the United States at the top of energy efficient countries in the world. Right now our grid system ranks at number 20 in the world. We are supposed to be the greatest nation on earth. The smart grid will make us great and improve the life of our citizens at the same time.
Thank you for your time and efforts to protect and serve New Hampshire!
Sincerely,
[Your Address]
[Your City, State, Zipcode]
[Your E-mail]
[Your Phone Number]
References
Bari, A., Jiang, J., Saad, W., & Jaekel, A. (2014). Challenges in the smart grid application: An
overview. International Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks, 1-11.
Jia, L., Thomas, R. J., & Tong, L. (2011). IEEE transactions on smart grid. IEEE 2, 4. 645-658.
Massoud, A. (2013). The smart-grid solution. Nature 499, 7457, 145-7.
The Smart Grid. U.S. Department of Energy. Retrieved from
http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/oeprod/DocumentsandMedia/DOE_SG_Book_Single_Pages(1).pdf
Wang, W. & Lu, Z. (2012). Cyber security in the Smart Grid: Survey and challenges. Computer Networks, 57, 5, 1344-1371.
