At the Gridwise Global Forum recently held in Washington D.C., there was a fair amount of talk about the need for a national energy policy and a price on carbon, but the conference was focused on the one area of clean technology and energy efficiency that is economically self-sustaining in the absence of policy change: The smart grid.
Very simply, the smart grid enables more efficient supply, use, and transmission of electricity, enabling utilities to lower their operating costs, resulting in lower costs for energy consumers. Utilities can access meter data remotely, price power in intervals to encourage users to reduce pricey peak demand, and predict and prevent physical grid issues. The benefits of these and other cost-reduction measures, should be passed on to consumers in the form of lower electricity prices.
Another great facet of the smart grid will be its ability to most effectively add renewable sources of generation, and so it is pertinent to discuss energy policy when speaking of the smart grid.
Three of the arguably most influential and well-known conference speakers — Sam Palmisano of IBM, Jeffrey Immelt of GE, and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu — all agreed that the nation needs to set a price on carbon and develop an energy policy in order for the U.S. to take the lead in sustainable, renewable energy development in the future.
