Smart GriD!

Utilities are facing many of the same challenges they have faced for years, but these challenges are becoming much more acute in this day of rising costs, aging infrastructure, and security threats. Like most industries, utilities have to do more with less. As with any large technology implementation, utilities can use a phased approach to SmartGrid, or implement a more limited system. A SmartGrid can be as simple as integrating a GIS, outage management system (OMS) and a SCADA system or some advanced metering, or it can be much more complex. Some utilities already have many of the technological components, so the best approach in those cases would be to design the proper integration of them to maximize the investment.