The Public Technology Institute has released "Smart Grid 101 for Local Governments," a tutorial on efforts to upgrade the nation's electrical grid.
Efforts to upgrade the nation's electric power generation and transmission infrastructure to create a "smart grid" will rely to a large degree on decisions made by local governments, according to a new report from the Alexandria, Va.-based Public Technology Institute (PTI). Therefore, PTI has released "Smart Grid 101 for Local Governments," a tutorial on what a smart grid would do, and what cities and counties can do to make it a reality.
PTI produced the 19-page illustrated "Smart Grid 101" under its Local Government Energy Assurance Planning (LEAP) program with the support of the U.S. Department of Energy. It is one of a series of five documents to be released this year, along with accompanying webinars, on different aspects of energy assurance and energy management.
The publication explains how a smart grid would:
• Communicate electricity price variations directly to intelligent devices inside homes and businesses.
• Educate consumers on the environmental effects of their energy consumption.
• Increase capacity for plug-in electric vehicles.
• Improve response to electric outages and self-healing systems that reroute power around trouble spots.
Download "Smart Grid 101."
