Smart Grid Pilot Could Begin Next Year in Worcester, National Grid Says
National Grid could begin a smart grid pilot program in Worcester as early as the first quarter of next year, pending approval from the state and federal governments, according to Keith Gossage, head of Smart Grid Development in the U.S. for National Grid.
Smart Gird technology allows customers to better monitor their energy usage and allows utility providers to more efficiently manage power distribution, Gossage said.
Gossage said National Grid has proposed five pilot programs across New England to the federal Department of Energy, including one in Worcester that would impact about 15,000 customers.
If accepted by the DOE in November, National Grid would then seek approval from the state's Department of Public Utilities to begin implementing the program in early 2010.
"Essentially, (customers) will be able to participate in the pilot to be able to understand their energy and optimize their energy usage, and that's from the point of view of cost management and carbon management," Gossage said after speaking at the 2009 Massachusetts Energy Summit and Central Mass Green Awards, sponsored by the Worcester Business Journal.
The smart grid pilot would install new display metering systems in homes and businesses in Worcester that would record energy usage and inform the customer of the cost of their energy.
National Grid would then create some tariffs associated with energy usage during peak times, encouraging customers to use energy when it is least expensive for them to do so.
National Grid has applied for the pilot to be subsidized by the federal government. Other costs associated with the pilot will be spread out across the company's entire customer base, Gossage said.
Other features of the smart grid could include automated appliances that would allow residents to take advantage of energy costs when they are the lowest during off-peak times, he said.
Gossage told the business leaders and municipal officials gathered at the summit that smart grid technology is a "sea change" in the utility industry.
A new utility market is emerging away from a one-way distribution of power from the utility to the customer and into an era of integrating a customer's energy efficient technology, such as wind and solar power generation, into the energy marketplace.
Stuart Ormsbee, manager of power marketing for TransCanda, a Canadian electric supply company with offices in Westborough, said he's excited to hear smart grid technology could be piloted in the area.
"I think it's good," he said. "You hear a lot about smart grid technology and it makes a lot of sense to be able to provide customers with the devices necessary to monitor their own energy usage."
Ormsbee said he hopes the pilot program would expand across more of Worcester County.
Gossage said the company will be reviewing the success of the pilot after two years to determine how to expand, if the project is launched.
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