Smart Grid Not As Complicated As Some Say

"He said the smart grid has three parts: smart devices, two-way communication (which makes those devices smart, and pulls and pushes the telemetry data they collect) and advanced control systems and applications (which provide the controls to act on the energy demand data that the smart devices provide). But making those three parts work together is where the real work of establishing the smart grid will come into play."

"First of all, we can't just rip out the old grid and add a new one. We have to upgrade the 100-year-old grid while it's running, while it's still churning out power. "This is upgrading it as a moving train," Berst explained. (This isn't a new problem, however, since the television industry has already met a very similar challenge.)"

"And for another thing, those smart meters and two-way communications systems and controlling software have to work. That sounds quite obvious, but by "work," the panelists are talking about 'never fail.'"