What's weird -- not to say ignorant -- about this article is that it ignores the base-load / peak-load issue that lies at the heart of actual utility economics.
Electricity is sold to households at a flat rate by the joule (metered by the kWh), typically with a fixed monthly fee tacked on.
But wholesale electricity price fluctuates based on demand. Everybody knows this: in the height of summer when everybody's A/C is cranking away, the utilities have to fire up their nasty diesel-powered generators. They beg their commercial customers to reduce demand. Long distance transmission lines warm up and sag a bit. If worst comes to worst, the utilities reduce the voltage on their sendout.
The utilities have to invest capital in well, capacity. If you know you never need more than 1 mW, and never less than 0.5 mW, you can build your distribution system for the peak, install four 0.25mW generators, and run two of them all the time and the other two when you need them. But if you might need 10mW on a hot day, and 0.5mW all the time, you have to spend a bundle on reserve capacity.
Load management is persuading energy users to avoid surges, and to shut off nonessential stuff when not needed.
But the typical electric grid isn't smart enough to handle this automatically. The load manager at the power company has to telephone Wal-Mart stores and ask them to turn off some lights and raise their thermostats. My electric vehicle charges at an appointed time of day, not when there's excess power capacity.
The smarter the grid gets, the better use of capital the power company can make.
Restoring power from blackouts is the worst. Electric motors draw a surge of power when they start. If a large city gets power restored all at once, the surge is huge.
Electricity is sold to households at a flat rate by the joule (metered by the kWh), typically with a fixed monthly fee tacked on.
But wholesale electricity price fluctuates based on demand. Everybody knows this: in the height of summer when everybody's A/C is cranking away, the utilities have to fire up their nasty diesel-powered generators. They beg their commercial customers to reduce demand. Long distance transmission lines warm up and sag a bit. If worst comes to worst, the utilities reduce the voltage on their sendout.
The utilities have to invest capital in well, capacity. If you know you never need more than 1 mW, and never less than 0.5 mW, you can build your distribution system for the peak, install four 0.25mW generators, and run two of them all the time and the other two when you need them. But if you might need 10mW on a hot day, and 0.5mW all the time, you have to spend a bundle on reserve capacity.
Load management is persuading energy users to avoid surges, and to shut off nonessential stuff when not needed.
But the typical electric grid isn't smart enough to handle this automatically. The load manager at the power company has to telephone Wal-Mart stores and ask them to turn off some lights and raise their thermostats. My electric vehicle charges at an appointed time of day, not when there's excess power capacity.
The smarter the grid gets, the better use of capital the power company can make.
Restoring power from blackouts is the worst. Electric motors draw a surge of power when they start. If a large city gets power restored all at once, the surge is huge.