23 Nov 2011
The UK is significantly renovating its electric infrastructure (Smart Grid.) The renovation will manage intermittent, renewable energy generation and the future deployment of electric vehicles.
Along with renewables, the UK is envisioning a bigger role for electric transport. To support these technologies, the country needs to upgrade its infrastructure and energy sector. The government budgets £200bn (US$312.8bn) to rebuild the country’s electricity infrastructure, according to the Energy Minister, Charles Hendry.
There are 6 major gas and electricity suppliers, providing 95% of the power for commercial customers. There are other independent operators, but the...
29 Nov 2011
A continuing black-eye for how US utilities handle Smart Grid conversions. The City of Boulder in Colorado, US has voted to convert its electric infrastructure from private to public ownership. The private utility, Xcel Energy had spent a lot of money attempting to make Boulder the world’s first Smart Grid City. It seems Xcel should have spent...
What Happened
One of the world’s first smart grid cities, designed to prove that smart grid technologies could deliver value to customers, has created a political, and eventually economic, dispute between one of the bigger publically-owned utilities in the US, Xcel Energy, and one of the most progressive, technology-friendly communities in the US, Boulder, Colorado, resulting in bad news for all concerned.
Background
Xcel Energy, an electric utility serving eight Southwest and...
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