Utilities Consider their Demand for Smart Grid Data

While many smart grid start ups are counting on access to a wealth of energy use new data, utilities are counting the costs of acquiring, maintaining and securing data that doesn't help them do their job better or make money. This Greentech Media post gets at pats of this tension:

The problem, says Andrew Tang of Pacific Gas and Electric, is that utilities need to make money from data if they're going to spend money on handling it. "More granular data... if I don't need it for system reliability and I can't monetize it, why would I want to buy it?" he said.

Read further down, however, and you'll see a few very solid comments in response, including this one:

Consumers and utilities don’t necessarily need more data. They don’t do anything with the rich data they already have (i.e. their electric bill). The role for start-ups, in my opinion, is to translate that data into something useful for both consumers and utilities. And I believe there is a lot of money to be made for companies that can figure out how to do that well.

Translating data into something useful, allowing it to reach those who can use it, and keeping it secure all the while ... that's the job.

The Very Accessible, Very Familiar Google PowerMeter

The web has upset many industries' apple carts; is Google now set to outflank some of the utilities as they move to provide real-time info to their customers? See here from the EU Energy Policy blog.

Dueling Smart Grid Cyber Bills

First, here's the line-up:

• H.R. 2165
  
• H.R. 2195
  
• S. 946
  

And a brief overview of who's involved:

Officials at the Federal Regulatory Commission, which has the responsibility of regulating the power grid, have complained that current laws do not allow timely, flexible security standards and leaves the grid vulnerable to cyberattack in a quickly evolving, increasingly networked environment. H.R. 2165, the Bulk Power System Protection Act of 2009 , was introduced April 29 by Rep. John Barrow (D-Ga.). H.R. 2195 was introduced April 30 by House Homeland Security Committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss). A companion bill to Thompson's legislation,  was introduced in the Senate April 30 by Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.).

Click here for GCN's details of the tussle between DHS, FERC and others over who owns which parts of the smart grid cyber security domain.

The Minute Opera for Energy: ACES Short and Sweet

Ted Click of Chesapeake Climate Action does you the favor of boiling the massive, 946-page American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) down into one concise summary post. Smart Grid has but one tiny mention, but you'll note that in order to hit many of the efficiency and renewable energy targets (e.g., states @ 20% by 2020), smart grid technologies will have to be widely deployed by then.

RE: smart grid security - ACES calls out a requirement for grid cyber security only once, on page 139. But other legislation is growing in the House and Senate to bring much greater grid and smart grid security to bear via amendments to the Federal Power Act. More on that in subsequent posts.

Put Yourself in FERC's Shoes Thinking Smart Grid Security

This article demonstrates well the dilemma facing NERC CTO Michael Assante and others trying to bring comprehensive, practical security measures to bear in the early days of the smart grid. Vendors of various security capabilities each get their two cents in creating a sense of a void in planning, and making it seem like NERC and the government will never get a handle on the complexities of smart grid security. But before you buy and deploy security products, you have to know what you're trying to accomplish: what you're protecting and from which types threats you're defending. Assante seems to understand the requirements building process:

The approval of [NERC's revised cyber security standards] is evidence that NERC's industry-driven standards development process is producing results, with the aim of developing a strong foundation for the cybersecurity of the electric grid," said Michael Assante, vice president and chief security officer at the NERC. However, he cautioned that these standards are not designed to address specific, imminent cybersecurity threats. For that, direct legislative action is needed.

Be glad you're not in NERC's position of separating the security technology wheat from the chaff on a daily basis. And keep a close watch on what they do next. I'd say so far, so good.

Smart Grids Growing in Colorado

I'm sure you've heard of "Smart Grid City" by now; it's being built by Xcel Energy in Boulder. But that's just the tip of the mountain. Informed sources have told me of work underway up in Fort Collins at CSU (aka FortZED ), at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, and elsewhere. Will keep you posted as more info rolls in from the Front Range.

Forrester and other Analyst Firms on Smart Grid and Smart Grid Security

More IT security specialists will begin to understand smart grid security as analysis firms like Forrester Research join the bandwagon. Recent post here from Forrester's "Security & Risk" Professionals blog. An IT-based analysis firm that's much larger than Forrester and with more smart (they say, "intelligent") grid coverage, is found in Gartner Group. Lastly, Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) is an energy focused analysis firm, though as with Forrester and Gartner, Smart Grid seems to be a relatively new topic for them. Note: most of these co's only give you a taste of what they know and hold most of the potentially helpful detail behind their paid subscription firewalls. Repeat: potentially helpful.