The Unpredictable Certainty White Papers (1997) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Electric Utilities and the NII: Issues and Opportunities
Electric Utilities and the NII: Issues and Opportunities
Pages 123-132
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 123... ...
Embedded in this restructuring evolution and coupled to the growing need to provide more In supply-side and demand-side management is the opportunity for the electric utility industry to become a significant player in the deployment of the national information infrastructure Am. As an Electnc Power Research Institute REPRO study concluded, Energy production and delivery will be tightly coupled with telecommunications and information services for the foreseeable future.
|
From page 124... ...
The Organization of the Electric Utility Industry There are three main categories of electric utilities today-the ~nvestor-owned utility (IOU) , the municipal utility, and the rural cooperative.
|
From page 125... ...
The cable industry and telecommunications providers are less likely to provide Me necessary infrastructure in rural areas because of the low~ensity customer base. Benefits of Energy Information Sernces There are several characteristics of energy supply, distribution, and consumption that can be and have been exploited to realize efficiencies and energy savings.
|
From page 126... ...
improved operating efficiency, safety, and productivity of electric utilities; (2) optimized power consumption, reduced energy costs, and improved energy efficiency for customers, and (3)
|
From page 127... ...
An exception is Me municipally owned electric utility in Glasgow, Kentucky, a community with a population of 13,000. In 198S, the Glasgow Electric Power Board installed a broadband network designed to support the stan~d communications needs of the utility, to provide innovative new energy information services, and to offer cable TV services.
|
From page 128... ...
~ addition to the energy services mentioned specifically above, others addressed by these alliances include energy theft detection, customer surveys, real-t~me pricing, power quality monitonng, and distribution system automation. Factors Influencing Strategic Alliances As discussed above, He electric utilities have a choice-deploy and operate Heir own telecommunications infrastructure, or use infrastructure provided by other telecommunications service providers.
|
From page 129... ...
CEBus, a protocol proposed by the Electrical Industry Association, and the LONWORKS protocols developed by a joint effort of the Echelon Corporation, Motorola, and Toshiba, are two new entries in the residential energy management arena [201. These two solutions can be implemented over a variety of media that include twisted pair lines, infrared, fiber, coax, and radio frequency.
|
From page 130... ...
Em,, I ~.# ~ ~ The electric utilities will need to deploy telecommunications inf~aucture to support the energy management services, but they should also provide generic NIT and Internet access.
|
From page 131... ...
Regardless of how the legislation proceeds, the electnc utilities should be positioning themselves for the future. Someone who has considerable experience in dealing with telecommunications issues has this to say about what utilities should be doing today [243: · Start building "common infrastructure" switched broadband telecommunications networks that the utility will use itself to deliver energy information services to consumers.
|
From page 132... ...
[17] Press release, January 23, 1995, contact Steve Becker, Cox Communications; Doug Durran, Continental Cablevision; Joe Waz, Comcast Corporation; and Lela Cocoros, Tele-Communications Inc.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.