Illinois Gets Smart About the Smart Grid

By Martin Cohen

Electricity is the lifeblood of the modern world, yet the technology used to produce and distribute it hasn't changed much in the last 100 years. We remain dependent on enormous fossil-fueled generators that boil water to create most of our electrical energy, which travels through a wires system that remains largely electromechanical in a digital age. And we use electricity in ever-increasing quantities with no regard for its extremely variable costs. All that is beginning to change, as concerns about global warming, shrinking resources, higher costs, and dependence on foreign energy supplies have combined to put energy efficiency and renewable resources at the center of an emerging new national energy strategy.

One essential element of a sustainable energy future is the eventual transformation of the electricity transmission and distribution system into a "Smart Grid" - an intelligent network tying together everything from toasters to utility system substations to the distant power plants and wind farms that are becoming more common in the Midwest.  

When fully deployed the Smart Grid will be "self-healing" and more reliable. Smart meters will provide information to consumers and utilities about power usage on a near-real-time basis, enabling dynamic electricity pricing, enhanced consumer choice and participation in electricity markets, and automatic control of electricity usage in an energy efficient "smart home". System operators will evaluate supply and demand data across the grid moment by moment, enabling integration of huge numbers of distributed generators with variable output, such as solar panels and wind turbines. Eventually, the Smart Grid could enable plug-in electric vehicles to become "rolling storage" devices, charging up during off-peak hours and sending electricity back into the network if and when it's needed.

But the Smart Grid also poses challenges to consumers who have little or no understanding of electricity, may have no interest in becoming "home energy managers" and may not want to be exposed to new pricing policies that could result in higher bills for some. Because the cost of transforming the grid won't be cheap, and it will eventually be paid -- like all other costs of the electricity system -- by customers, it's important to make sure these costs will be exceeded by Smart Grid benefits so that consumers share in any savings.

The task of figuring out how to make the transition to a Smart Grid, what's the right technology to install, when to do it, and how it's going to be paid for falls to the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC). When ComEd and Ameren-Illinois asked for permission to charge their customers for deployment of Smart Grid technologies, the ICC decided to first invite interested stakeholders in Illinois to explore the relevant issues, then recommend how the state should develop a strategic plan for Smart Grid.

The ICC directive led to the formation of the Illinois Statewide Smart Grid Collaborative (ISSGC). Under the leadership of Enernex, an independent expert consultant/facilitator, more than 150 stakeholders representing utilities, consumer advocates, environmental groups, municipal officials, business associations, technology firms, the state attorney general's office, and the ICC staff are studying the key issues. The ISSGC's volunteer workgroups are researching Smart Grid technologies and applications, consumer protection, customer choice, rates and rate design, cost allocations, and security. The end product of the ISSGC, to delivered to the ICC by October 1, 2010, will be a strategic plan for Smart Grid in Illinois, including a framework for the commission to fully assess its costs and benefits in a subsequent Smart Grid implementation proceeding. 

Illinois sits at the crossroads of the nation's transportation system and occupies the same crucial place in the electricity grid, With the support of key national technology leaders like Argonne National Lab, UIC and IIT, our state is poised to lead the nation in developing a smart approach to Smart Grid.


Martin Cohen is helping Enernex facilitate the Illinois Statewide Smart Grid Collaborative. He was the Executive Director of the Illinois Citizens Utility Board (CUB) for two decades, served briefly as Chairman of the ICC, and is now an independent energy policy consultant.