A glimpse of this creature called 'Smart Grid'

When was the last time you read these statements somewhere-  "We need to use more renewable energy", " Solar Energy is the future", " Save Energy- SAVE THE EARTH"... The answers would range from 1 hour back on a billboard on the road, to day back on a television infomercial.

While we talk about using more and and more clean sources of energy, the key fact remains that most renwable energy sources are intermittent in nature (Solar only in daytime, wind speed varies). Thus it becomes key that we manage our sources of energy in a smart and effecient manner by making you realise the 'real' cost of electricity at all times

To understand this better, Lets leap ahead, say, 15 years to another really hot week, but one in which there are a large number of electric vehicles. It's lateafternoon and the electricity grid is already straining to cope with the excessive use of air conditioning, then a whole fleet of electric vehicles arrive home from work, get plugged in and bring down the grid. At least thatis what would happen if the operators weren't able to manage demand through differential tariffs or even direct control.

Now lets add in a final complication to the story. Staying 15 years hence, we add a whole load of small scale renewable energy sources embedded throughout the grid. While the sun shines this great – it is a local source of energy supplying local demand and is a relief to thegrid. Until, that is, the storm clouds gather and the sky goes from blue to grey. You dont really need to be a solar energy expert to know that as the storm clouds roll over in this hypothetical early evening, the power from these power sources will drop immediately, putting yet another strain on the overworked energy company.

Let's now replay that scenario but with smart grid technology. During the day, using market signals (in other words, different tariff during different times of the day), the utility has managed to reduce demand and now has some capacity headroom. As electric vehicles plug into this network, the driver is asked if recharging can wait for a cheaper time. I imagine that most people will say "yes" and so there will be minimal extra load from the few who need to reuse the vehicle in the near future. And finally as the storm clouds converge over the solar panels and local production drops, the utility is able to instruct the city's thermostats to rise by 1 degree, again protecting the grid from failure with minimal inconvenience.

A smart grid is this and much more. It is not only a smart IT layer on the crumbling electricity distribution system, but also a platform to build newer and exciting applications such as in-house energy display screens showing you current energy consumption and the existing rates, or systemic alarms on your cellphone if you have left your AC on during your vacation (and being able to switch it off from your cell phone too!)

In 15 years time, if my hypothesis (and not just mine alone) is correct, we have no choice but to have intelligent grids:

• To make the most of the assets that exist
• To manage the different energy sources, especially the intermittent ones
• To avoid blackouts, which fundamentally are the classic way of managing demand, through dynamic management of load.

A smart grid is something that not only makes the electricity distribution smarter and more efficient, but also serves to make consumers smarter about electricity usage, the only way to achieve an energy revolution. And we have to start on this journey now!