Indiana Lt. Governor Becky Skillman will speak during the Opening General Session at UTC TELECOM 2010 on May 24, 2010. Other keynote speakers during this session include: Ed Simcox, CEO, Indiana Energy Association, John Baer, President and CEO of the Midwest Independent System Operator, Jeffrey Katz, UTC's Chairman of the Board and Bill Moroney, UTC's Presdient and CEO. The complete program for UTC TELECOM 2010 is available here.

The European Utilities Telecom Council (EUTC) recently presented the first formal review to the European Commission of its Information Communications Technology for Smart Distributed Generation (ICT4SMARTDG) project.

Together with work packages leaders Jesus Garcia Martin from Iberdrola, Isidro Cabello Medina, from Telefonica, Fabio Tassara from Samares and David Wilkinson from Alcatel-Lucent – EUTC Director Peter Moray presented the work achieved so far by the project to Pierre Chastanet, project officer at the European Commission, and three independent reviewers. The review occurred on March 24th. Read more »

The European Utilities Telecom Council (EUTC) argued that allocating spectrum for utilities for intelligent communications networks, such as Smart Grids, would support other community goals, especially energy targets, and the Copenhagen Agenda. EUTC was participating in the first multi-annual Radio Spectrum Policy Summit hosted by the European Commission and the European Parliament 22-23 March in Brussels.

EUTC also challenged the EU and EuroParl to consider the carbon implications of spectrum allocation decisions, which currently appears to be overlooked. EUTC was represented by its Director, Peter Moray, and its Special Spectrum Advisor, Adrian Grilli, Managing Director of the Joint Radio Company (UK). The chairman of the new European Radio Spectrum Policy Group comprising national telecoms regulators was on the platform, plus various dignitaries from national governments, including the Belgium Minister for Telecoms as the host nation, the Spanish Minister for Telecoms representing the Presidency, plus the Swedish State Secretary for telecoms. The joint hosts were the Digital Agenda Commissioner Mrs. Neelie Kroes (Netherlands) on behalf of the Commission, plus various MEPs from across Europe who shared the Parliament's role. Read more »

My wife is fond of quoting the old adage, "Patience is a virtue, find it if you can, seldom in a woman, never in a man." While I would argue that she has the precedence backwards, the point is accurate. There has been precious little patience these days; at least, so it would seem when it comes to smart control grid and smart metering projects.

Recent press reports are stressing the hard times that many "smart" technology companies have been facing as the roll out of smart grids projects have been slowed by procedural problems surrounding smart grid stimulus funding and worries over the possibility of mandated technical standards flowing from NIST's smart grid interoperability standards process. Folks, two things: (1) the wait is almost over; and (2) don't ignore the fact that many smart installations have continued throughout this process. To the former point, we know that stimulus contracts are being signed in increasing numbers. Order confirmations are not far behind. While the NIST process is not complete, it is fairly clear now where it is headed and which technologies will be anointed as winners. So, in the end, patience has been the virtue that is now being rewarded. Read more »

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(Washington, DC) While energy companies and tech suppliers concentrate on constructing smart grids, consumers will ultimately determine the success of next-generation utility networks, top government and business leaders agreed here today at "Power in Numbers: Unleashing Innovation in Home Energy Use," a conference hosted by Google in partnership with The Climate Group.

"We're really a consumer services company" Jason Few, President of Houston, TX-based electric utility Reliant Energy said. "Consumers are making power purchase decisions without any information. We don’t believe that is a good experience." To address the problem, Reliant is working with energy management tech provider Tendril Networks to empower consumers, Few said, offering homes that have advanced meters technological tools for managing energy consumption, including an in-home monitor that displays real-time information. Reliant Energy is focused on consumer innovation because it is a competitive energy provider but few utilities are motivated to enhance consumer capabilities because they don't face competition, according to Tendril Networks CEO Adrian Tuck. "If we don't solve that problem, then the [smart grid] technology will flounder," Tuck said. Read more »

(Washington, DC) Smart grids will drive our national energy policy but policy makers agree that federal and state regulators need to collaborate not only with one another but also with the utility industry to ensure energy savings and efficiencies are realized from smart grid deployments. Kicking off UTC's Smart Grid Policy Summit here today, UTC CEO Bill Moroney noted that "too many of us were talking past one another and not with one another."

Keynote speaker Federal Energy Regulatory Commissioner John Norris emphasized that coordination of efforts among all energy players is needed to lay the foundation for smart grid evolution. "There needs to be a sequence of development in terms of smart grid technologies. We need to coordinate the roll out of technologies to ensure that consumers see the benefit," Norris said. Read more »

(Washington, DC) Smart grids are about to bring forth a technological revolution that could eclipse those generated by the divestiture of AT&T or even the advent of the Internet, government leaders said here today at UTC's Smart Grid Policy Summit.

"Brace yourselves," Philip Moeller, Federal Energy Regulatory Commissioner, said. The smart grid could be even more transformative than the break-up of AT&T twenty-five years ago, he contended. "That was kind of like unleashing the hounds of hell. The system was broken and people hated it. They hated having choices. They hated having one bill. But they got over it." Read more »