Product Abstract

The Southern California Edison (SCE) smart grid demonstration host site is part of an Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) multiyear initiative with a collaborative group of utility participants. SCE’s Irvine Smart Grid Demonstration (ISGD) project’s objective is to verify, quantify, and validate the feasibility of integrating multiple smart grid technologies to represent the future of an integrated electric distribution system that is expected to be more reliable, secure, economic, efficient, safe, and environmentally friendly than those in use today. The ISGD project is in the late stages of planning for most of the subprojects and early stages of engineering and design on others. DOE’s Metrics and Benefits Reporting Plan was formally approved on June 29, 2011.

Background

The SCE project is a component of an EPRI multiyear collaborative initiative with utility participants focused on integrating multiple smart grid technologies in the same area to determine their performance and predict their impact on the customer as well as the utility infrastructure. The project includes a variety of resources such as self-healing distribution circuits, voltage conservation, demand response, energy storage, and distributed and renewable generation. These resources—if equipped with sensing, controls, and communication—could be aggregated into a distribution circuit of the future, showing increased energy efficiency, higher reliability, and fewer customer outages.

Objective

This project provides periodic updates on technology and project developments specific to one utility host site for knowledge sharing within the smart grid demonstration collaborative.

Approach

This update on the SCE demonstration host site shares progress, project learning, and next steps for this portion of the overall smart grid demonstration project.

Results

Initial project development has focused on planned benefits, utilization, and operational parameters for the eight subprojects included in this demonstration. Most of the subprojects’ statements of work have been finalized by SCE and await final agreement from the partners. All partner, vendor, and customer contracts are due to be finalized by the end of 2011; the first set of build metrics is anticipated to be delivered to DOE by November/December 2011.

Application, Value and Use

The SCE host site for the EPRI smart grid demonstration is focused on conducting an end-to-end demonstration of a group of advanced smart grid technologies believed necessary to meet state and federal policy goals for the year 2020. This demonstration will take place on a section of SCE’s grid that encompasses transmission through distribution to customer premises. As such, this project will provide a “living laboratory” for assessing the interoperability and interaction among various smart grid technologies and systems working at the same time. The ISGD will be deployed primarily in the City of Irvine, a site typical of heavily populated areas of Southern California in climate, topography, environmental concern, and public policy issues.