Smart grid technology is a bridge that connects generation supply, demand and customers. Yet many utility customers do not know how smart grid technologies will affect them. To make it work, we need to know utility customers.

On the distribution-side, smart grid technology like smart meters and Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and Home Area Networking (HAN), combined with access to real-time energy use information and time of use (TOU) pricing, has the potential to revolutionize everyday energy usage decisions.

And when it comes to new ‘smart’ technology and adoption there of – especially for residential electric utility consumers — we need to know what customers are going to do, what they want, and what they could want if they knew it could happen.

To bridge the connection between customers and generation, three key issues need to be addressed:

• Standards and protocols – Appliance and energy management system manufacturers will not be able to design products for each market in the world. Global standards and protocols for communications and devices need to be defined.
• Customer adoption and use of technology – The system controls in customer homes and places of business need to be simple. Customers need to be able to see the value of using the technology.
• Data management and security – Data management and security issues have to be worked out. There are proven technologies that can be leveraged to manage data security, some of which have already been used to automate data for medical systems which have much stricter privacy requirements.

As customer preferences and interaction with smart grid technology are understood, customer service processes and operational procedures will need to be adapted. Customer call centers, for example, may need to provide information portals to respond to inquiries regarding smart appliances and electric vehicles. New communications technologies also may need to be deployed to notify customers of restoration status.

A more detailed summary of the executive-level energy and utility industry dialog held at KEMA’s 2^nd annual Utility of the Future conference – including the Focus on the Customer panel – is available on-line and as a download at www.kema.com/utilityfuture2009.