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Smart Metering T&D


Tracking Smart City Trends

Already, smart city technologies are strong in Europe and the Middle East. Now, cities all over North America are joining the smart cities movement as well. Once the journey begins, a city quickly realizes that it cannot become smart and sustainable without the help of its electric power utility....

Asset Management & Maintenance


Extracting Value From Big Data

Moving forward with distribution automation and intelligent electronic devices BY JOHN MCDONALD, GE Digital Energy The ongoing rollout of interval (aka “smart”) meters and the resulting deluge of data have rightly received much attention and triggered the initial impetus for electric utility...

Substation Automation T&D


Enabling Smart Grid Volt/VAR Control

Optimizing power flow using a distribution model BY TIM TAYLOR, Ventyx Today’s emphasis on implementing energy efficiency programs and limiting peak demand growth has driven renewed interest in the most effective method to implement Smart Grid volt-ampere reactive control, or Smart Grid volt/VAR...

Utility Automation & Monitoring T&D


Microgrids: Moving Away From Central Power

Asset management evolves as microgrids play various roles BY MASSOUD AMIN, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Microgrids, as many readers are aware, are small power systems of several megawatts (MW) or less in scale that possess three primary characteristics: distributed...

Energy Storage & Grid Integration


Massachusetts Utilities File $5B Efficiency Plan

Massachusetts' utility companies have unveiled an ambitious $5 billion energy efficiency plan designed to bolster the state's efforts to meet its climate goals and provide substantial savings to consumers. The proposed initiative, called the Mass Save program, aims to expand energy-saving...

Distribution Automation


A Grid With Multiple Applications

Examining the foundational elements in architecture decision BY TOM WILSON, Itron In recent years, the utility industry has seen a diverse set of use cases for Smart Grid deployments emerge. North American electric utilities are carefully considering architecture decisions to ensure that the...

T&D Automation

Security Protocols

Using enterprise tools to secure wireless field area communication networks

BY BERT WILLIAMS, ABB Tropos Wireless Communication Systems

Utility grid modernization applications such as automated metering infrastructure (AMI), distribution automation (DA), substation automation (SA), and mobile workforce automation, in short, the portfolio of applications known as Smart Grid, require two-way information flow. Systems that have traditionally used physically isolated, proprietary networks are evolving toward integrated, open standard, internet-protocol (IP)-based architectures to facilitate communications.

The...

T&D Automation Articles