GridDOE grant to make Sacramento, Calif. grid more resilient in emergencies

Design schematic of smart grid // Source: purdue.edu

The Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) $600,000 to install smart-grid technologies which will make the SMUD grid more adaptable to adversity.

The Grid Resilience Grant helps fund half of SMUD’s $1.2 million Resilient Grid Initiative which is designed to make SMUD’s distribution system more adaptable to major disasters and reduce the effects of climate change through the installation and operation of high-voltage (69 kilovolt) switches and the implementation and operation of voltage optimization measures. These measures will increase the carrying capacity of the system during major natural disasters and other emergencies.

SMUD says that the grant extends and expands capabilities brought to SMUD from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Smart Grid program, through which SMUD received more than $127 million in DOE funds in the fall of 2009. That grant helped SMUD install more than 600,000 smart meters and develop and deliver its smart grid programs.

“We are very grateful and excited to win this grant,” said SMUD CEO and General Manager Arlen Orchard. “The award helps SMUD increase energy reliability and makes the grid more efficient, while keeping our rates affordable,” said Orchard.

“SMUD is a leader in smart grid technology and this new federal grant will help them further those efforts,” said Congresswoman Doris O. Matsui (D-Sacramento). “As our region faces more extreme weather events and potential disruptions, we must make sure the electricity grid is able to meet any challenge posed to it. These federal and local funds will ensure that SMUD has a reliable and resilient electric grid that everyone in Sacramento can depend on,” said Matsui.

Specifically, SMUD’s Resilient Grid Initiative will utilize commercial and emerging smart-grid technologies to increase reliability, improve grid efficiency, and make the grid more resilient to natural disasters, cyberattack, and other emergency events. All the installed technologies will have the potential to be replicated in other utility systems across North America.

SMUD notes that its Resilient Grid Initiative emphasizes sectionalization — the isolation of affected parts of the grid in an emergency. SMUD will use advanced real-time remote monitoring switches and fault indicators that include voltage monitoring and control for distributed generation technologies like solar. The grant will also be used for advanced training of SMUD operations and line personnel.

The Resilient Grid Initiative also emphasizes installing advanced voltage optimization technologies at the neighborhood transformer voltage level that stabilize the grid and make it more efficient. This will deliver improved power factor and reduce peak demand through reduced customer energy consumption.

SMUD says it is continuing to develop complex bidirectional, data-driven system to meet customers’ expectations, which are becoming ever more diverse in the use of power. “With the deployment of distributed generation, the need to maintain reliability and quality standards in the face of sophisticated security threats is a primary emphasis,” SMUD notes.