Illinois charges ahead with smart grid plan

Illinois has rapidly become a national leader in its adoption and investment into smart grid technologies, according to experts.

The power supply network in Illinois is an antiquated system of disjointed transmission and distribution channels, one that should have been upgraded decades ago. Commonwealth Edison is working to fix that, however, as the Illinois-based power provider has begun a comprehensive upgrade plan that will effectively revolutionize the way energy is transmitted and used within the state.

The New York Times reports that ComEd's smart grid modernization project – which carries a $2.6 billion price tag – is one of the most ambitious developments of its kind in the U.S. Other states are struggling to secure funding to finance such massive upgrades, mirroring a battle that raged prior to its approval.

Lawmakers in the state were fiercely divided over the smart grid project, with state representatives ultimately overriding Democratic Governor Pat Quinn's veto of the utility's 10-year project. Officials sparred over whether ComEd would be permitted to raise customer rates, and backers of the unique project prevailed over concerns from the governor's office and a number of consumer advocacy groups.

ComEd executives noted that the project would end up saving customers more money than it is costing them in the short-term, but critics balked at such an assertion. Still, experts affirmed a number of studies performed throughout the U.S. suggest that installing smart grid technologies in utility customers' homes can help significantly reduce overall electricity consumption rates, leading to lower energy bills and improve efficiency.

The utility launched a pilot project of the smart grid project in 2009, upgrading a substation in Oak Park designed to test what kinds of potential savings state residents could expect. Crews installed a number of smart grid systems on the substation, enabling the utility to receive thousands of pieces of information every few seconds.

Utility officials noted the substation has allowed them to identify and analyze power supply disruptions and other potential electric grid disturbances, often before they even affect customers. Such are the benefits of the smart grid, backers assert, as utilities and other power providers are given access to information that permits them to improve service and reduce the frequency of disruptions.

ComEd smart grid manager Rich Gordus Jr. said that the Oak Park substation is a highly advanced piece of technology, capable of rewiring troubled lines to alternative power sources. The substation was highly effective during its trial run, and the utility used it as a bargaining chip during discussions with state leaders in their quest to raise rates to finance the smart grid upgrades.

The smart grid differs sharply from the antiquated electric grid it is replacing in Illinois, according to ComEd vice president Val Jensen. He said that the nation's current power supply architecture is "relatively dumb, meaning that we put power into the grid at the plant and then it flows according to the law of physics through all of those wires."

As a result, ComEd – like all other utilities – does not investigate power supply disruptions until they are reported. The rapidly aging electric grid effectively prevents power providers from monitoring their power supply networks. The smart grid, on the other hand, provides electric grid operators with critical information that they can utilize to instantly patch power supply disruptions.

"Otherwise, the only way we could tell is if we sent a person out there to check and then went in and started looking at a bunch of gauges," Jensen contended.

ComEd is continuing work to upgrade its power supply network and officials stressed that when it is completed, it could drastically cut customers' energy bills.

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