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For immediate release Electricity Innovation Institute and EPRI
Unveil Architecture for Upgrade of the Power Grid Washington, DC - October 14, 2004 - At a briefing in Washington today, the Electricity Innovation Institute (E2I), an affiliate of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), announced the completion of the initial phase of the Intelligrid Architecture, the first comprehensive communications architecture for the power delivery system of the future. The result is a unified vision for upgrading the power system that will save time and money for systems designers, and ensure compatibility with future technologies. The Intelligrid vision links communications and electricity into a "smart grid" - an integrated, "self healing," and electronically controlled power system that will offer unprecedented flexibility and functionality, and improve system security. By promoting compatibility with future technologies, these tools for the design of systems will eliminate the need for expensive upgrades later on. Intelligrid's non-proprietary "open" architecture can be adopted by all manufacturers, promoting interoperability and better communication. "The knowledge-based economy of the future will require a smart power delivery system that links information technology with energy delivery," said Clark Gellings, vice president of Power Delivery and Markets for EPRI. "The concept of the smart power delivery system includes automated capabilities to recognize problems, find solutions, and optimize the performance of the system." To date, progress leading to this vision has been piecemeal. As a result, there exists a wide range of variation in the level of capability and compatibility across the overall power system. This was emphasized by William Parks, DOE's acting director, Office of Electric Transmission and Distribution (OETD) in his remarks. "If all stakeholders follow a common architecture, the modernized grid will be more robust, more reliable and more secure and will move us toward DOE's Roadmap vision of this critical infrastructure," Parks said. Development of the Intelligrid Architecture was sponsored by E2I's Consortium for Electric Infrastructure to Support a Digital Society (CEIDS), a partnership among industry, utilities, and government to create the "smart grid" to support future industries and business. CEIDS partners include Alliant Energy, California Energy Commission, Bonneville Power Administration, Con Edison, Electricite de France, Long Island Power Authority, New York Power Authority, Polish Power Grid, Public Service Electric and Gas, Salt River Project, TXU Energy, U.S. Department of Energy, United Technologies, and We Energies. To develop the Intelligrid Architecture, a diverse team of industry experts led by GE Global Research brought extensive utility industry and standards-making experience to the task of defining the requirements and the technical approach for the project. The report, which is publicly available free of charge on the Internet at http://www.e2i.org includes a catalog of the functions of the electricity system, a set of design tools, and recommendations for standards and technologies. "Input from hundreds of stakeholders in the public and private sectors provided the developers with a full understanding of the requirements that will be placed on the electricity system both today and in the future," noted E2I's president and CEO, T.J. Glauthier. "Users of the web-based system will find easy access to over 6,000 pages of models, tools, methodologies, guidelines and recommendations." The Intelligrid Architecture is being applied by utilities such as Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) and Electricite de France (EdF). "At Long Island Power Authority we see immense value in the Intelligrid Architecture," said LIPA vice president, Bruce Germano. "We are currently applying the tools and recommendations of the Intelligrid Architecture to help us build several upgrades of our current system." Richard Schomberg, VP, Research & New Technologies for EDF International North America, added, "EDF will be applying the Intelligrid Architecture in several areas, including the use of its recommendations in the redesign of its Distribution information system to meeting the market restructuring required by the European Union for 2007." At this time, Intelligrid Architecture tools are also being used in the following ways:
E2I, an affiliate of EPRI, is a nonprofit organization that conducts strategic breakthrough research and development in energy-related science and technology. Bringing together public and private resources, E2I directs and supports science and technology innovation in electricity supply, delivery, and utilization to address the needs of the 21st century economy. Visit E2I at www.e2i.org. Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), headquartered
in Palo Alto, Calif., was established in 1973 as a non-profit center
for public interest energy and environmental research. EPRI's collaborative
science and technology development program now spans nearly every
area of power generation, delivery and use. More than 1,000 energy
organizations and public institutions in 40 countries draw on EPRI's
global network of technical and business expertise. Visit EPRI at
www.epri.com. - # # # -
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