This can be seen in the skyrocketing cost of power outages. The Department of Energy calculates that outages cost Americans $150 billion annually –nearly $500 per person every year. Other estimates in recent years have put the cost at $50 billion to $180 billion, depending on what impacts are included in the equation. But everyone agrees that the cost is mounting rapidly.
-The annual number of blackouts affecting more than 50,000 U.S. customers increased from 140 during 2000-2004 to 303 during 2005-2009 the trend has continued with 52 such blackouts in 2010 and 109 in 2011
-Electric customers spent 43 percent more to maintain and repair existing infrastructure in 2011 than in 2002, but the average customer still spent 112 minutes without power in 2011
-When outages due to weather events are removed from the equation, the number of grid related failures has decreased slightly over the past decade, but the average recovery time is longer, AP reported.
To understand how today’s smart building automation is ready for smart grid implementation, look at onsite power generation. Many facilities with heat-intensive uses, such as manufacturing plants, are already investing in co-generation, while facilities such as data centers are exploring combined heat and power (CHP) strategies. With the focus on energy efficiency and carbon reduction, distributed power strategies are expanding to other types of facilities.
Smart grid infrastructure would provide a market for excess energy generated at the site level, and would reduce the amount of energy lost in transmission. It is estimated that about 10 percent of energy from power plants is lost on the way to its destination, but the loss factor increases as the distance between the source and the end-use increases.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, via its ENERGY STAR program, estimates that the country’s 4.8 million commercial buildings spend about $108 billion on energy, and 350,000 industrial plants use another $85 billion. ENERGY STAR also notes that about 30 percent of that energy is wasted. That’s potentially $65 billion a year that could be saved from better monitoring and management of energy in commercial buildings.
The reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is a bonus for cities, where governments are concerned about the effects of climate change. Cities also care about efficiency. But more than any other issue, city leaders are continually focused on competiveness for business attraction and expansion. Cities that work with their utilities and business communities to accelerate installation of smart grids stand a good chance of winning in the future.
