POWER August 2011 - 48

2011 SMART GRID AWARD
Sensible Messaging
One of the great temptations for vendors of
smart grid technologies and the utilities introducing
them is to promise too many benefits
too fast. Though it is true that the benefits
of a fully modernized, smarter grid will be
many, utility customers are unlikely to directly
experience-or appreciate-them all.
Failing to deliver immediately on promised
benefits (especially lower bills) has been one
major cause of backlashes against smart grid
projects.
VEC has taken a more cautious approach.
" You've got to underpromise and overdeliver, "
Hallquist explained. When VEC switched out
its old analog meters, it referred to the new
ones as " advanced " or " bidirectional " meters,
rather than as " smart meters. " To be fair, it was
easier for VEC to use these technically accurate
terms exclusively because the figurative
term " smart meter " was not yet part of the
public lexicon in 2005.
VEC has also " been completely unscathed, "
by data privacy concerns, according to
Hallquist, largely because it was " ahead of the
curve " in deploying electronic meters. Nevertheless,
the co-op has developed a data privacy
policy that is proving to be handy now that
third parties are interested in customer data.
Similarly, the utility didn't talk about the
OMS until it was in place, which prevented
prematurely raised expectations about what
it could achieve. Operating it first in silent
mode ensured that members would continue
to call in if they experienced an outage. WattWATCHERS,
too, was not touted until it was
up and running.
To this day, VEC is not telling customers
that its " smart grid " efforts will save them
money. (VEC rates for industrial customers
are among the lowest in the state, its commercial
rates are average, and though the
$0.18/kWh residential rate is about 10%
higher than rates of other Vermont utilities,
the gap is closing because VEC rates have
been stable while other utilities' rates are
going up, according to Hallquist.) The system
has paid for itself through operational
savings, Hallquist points out, but he can't be
sure when members will see cost savings on
their bills that are a direct consequence of the
upgrade projects, so the utility is not making
that claim.
Wise People
When asked whether it was easier or harder
to implement all of these smart grid technologies
because of VEC's size and legal
structure, Hallquist immediately responded,
" It was much easier. We don't have the levels
of decision-making [larger, investor-owned
utilities have], and we're all hands-on. " Too
many small utilities use their size as an excuse
for sitting on the smart grid sidelines,
in his opinion.
What's more, noted Elizabeth Gamache,
manager of corporate services, technology
upgrades to reduce costs were favored by the
member-owners, who directly benefit from
any operational cost-savings. " Little did I
realize, " said Gamache, who has been with
VEC for just three years, " how remarkable
the work was that was going on in rural Vermont.
If smart grid can happen here, there's
no reason it can't happen anywhere. "
Developing a smarter power grid requires
more than " smart " technologies and
smart people. It also requires wise people,
like the member-customers, staff, and
leadership of Vermont Electric Cooperative.
POWER congratulates you for being
early adopters of smart grid technologies,
taking the long view, tackling smart grid
projects in logical stages, and communicating
effectively. ■
-Dr. Gail Reitenbach is POWER's
managing editor.
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POWER August 2011

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