Martin Creaner: The telecoms world is just beginning to wake up to the smart grid opportunity
 
 
 
The level of hype surrounding smart grids, which is the next-generation of the electrical grid that’s more aware of usage by end users and can proactively take measures to ensure that customers get the power they need when they need it, is set to rival the cloud hype of 2009.
In fairness, the telecoms world is just beginning to wake up to an opportunity that has been a hot topic for several years in the wider utilities world. With environmental issues becoming more of a priority for many different industries, the emergence of so-called green initiatives should come as no surprise. I have come across articles from as far back as 2004 that refer to smart grids - and for all I know the term was coined in the 80’s or 90's.
A definition of a smart grid is one that delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers using two-way digital technology to control appliances at consumers' homes to save energy, reduce cost and increase reliability. It overlays an efficient electricity distribution grid with an information and net metering system.
And it is this information and net metering system that has caught the attention of the telco suppliers. As you implement a smarter set of technologies that relate to utility metering and the like, there’s a whole load of opportunities opening up for putting a strong management layer on top of it all. And that’s where traditional communications players can find a really strong position going forward.
The operator opportunity

Over the past decade telecoms and MSO vendor companies have been developing sophisticated solutions for network, performance and service management, and each of these competencies becomes critically important in a smart grid world that is orders of magnitude more complex than the utility world of the last century. Dynamic rating and fulfillment across a nationwide network also become mission critical in this new world. For example, through the application of more sophisticated rating to a smart meter infrastructure, utility companies can dynamically flex the price of power in a near real time fashion based on demand. And from the customer’s point of view, they will be able to time their heavy usage based on the current available price, for example only running washing machines or air conditioning when the price per unit falls below a certain point.

Another element of the smart grid involves improving transmission efficiency so that electrical power can be transported with lower loss over much greater distances, which is critical in market that wants to dynamically distribute power to where and when it’s most needed. This is exactly the sort of thinking that’s been promoted by the Obama Administration in the U.S. with its emphasis on reducing dependency on fossil fuels and use of hybrid cars, wind and solar power and clean coal. A greener use of existing energy resources is also a key part of Obama’s plan, which is where smart meters and the smart grid come into play.
The TM Forum is looking at how our core frameworks can best be applied to this new but closely related challenge. At first blush it appears that our much of our business process and information expertise is immediately applicable – albeit there will undoubtedly need to be some extensions of the base frameworks to embrace different terminology and customer paradigms. I also fully expect our SLA management and revenue assurance work to become valuable resources to help address the smart grid challenge. We are also talking to a number of utility companies who wish to become members of the Forum to better understand both the challenges and the opportunity.
As the utility industry moves toward creating a smart grid, I think the opportunity is wide open for those traditional communications software suppliers that are able to think laterally to find practical ways to expand and redesign their product offerings to embrace these new lucrative markets. GTB