Over the past twelve months, Smart Grid has matured from a marketing buzzword to an industry strategy, with everyone from electric utility providers, to consulting and solution firms, to our country’s executive and legislative leaders referencing it as a key strategy for any number of objectives.  Experts seem to agree that the Smart Grid is past the tipping point; however, agreement on strategy doesn’t necessarily constitute an agreement on deployment tactics.

Is it ready to be deployed or are there still questions’ needing an answer before Smart Grid goes mainstream?  Mike Carlson, Xcel Energy’s Chief Information Officer and vice president of Business Systems, will present an overview of what the Smart Grid strategy still needs to ensure its success in meeting the many opportunities and expectations that have been placed on it.

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The Smart Grid transformation is now officially recognized as essential to our nation's economic recovery, and also to resolving the "perfect storm" of urgent energy security and environmental challenges the U.S. and all its citizens now face.  Electricity is indeed the lifeblood of our economy and quality of life.  In spite of this recognition, there is still considerable confusion and debate about the best strategy for infusing smart technology into the obsolete electricity infrastructure, governed by equally outdated restrictive policies and  state regulations that discourage modernization and protect the status-quo at all costs. The Galvin Electricity Initiative’s answer are smart, green microgrids incorporating the latest innovative technologies to reinforce and refine the bulk power supply at the local level, and to deliver Perfect Power services to every consumer- large or small.  The resulting national economic benefits will be immediately measured in hundreds of billions of dollars each year without consideration of the broader societal benefits that will also accrue from this transformation.

Galvin Initiative Executive Director Kurt Yeager will share how smart microgrids demonstrably produce the greatest benefits most quickly through entrepreneurial, free enterprise implementation that empowers all consumers while maximizing electricity service reliability, quality, efficiency and green job creation. In this presentation, Mr. Yeager will describe smart microgrid system designs, technologies, costs, and the resulting benefits together with demonstrated examples, such as the Illinois Institute of Technology campus-wide Perfect Power prototype microgrid being collaboratively developed with the U.S. Department of Energy and Commonwealth Edison in Chicago. He will also recommend policy leadership initiatives necessary to enable and stimulate this 21st century reinvention of Thomas Edison, and the resulting profoundly positive transformation of electricity service quality and value for all U.S. citizens.

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