GERMANTOWN, MD--(Marketwire - February 25, 2009) - CURRENT Group, LLC Chief Executive Officer
Tom Casey told the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global
Warming today that a Smart Grid would have a substantial and immediate
impact on the nation's electricity system and deliver immense environmental
benefits by reducing carbon emissions in the United States.
Smart Grid is the application of readily available technology to the wires
that distribute electricity to customers. That technology is comprised of
sensors that are attached to those wires to determine whether the
electricity is flowing as it should, high speed communications to transmit
that information, and software that can analyze it and determine whether
there are problems, and if so, what to do about it. Finally, a Smart Grid
would also act on this analysis by correcting the problems. Ultimately,
allowing a utility to manage its distribution grid more efficiently,
require less power to be generated, create fewer emissions, and reduce the
frequency and duration of outages.
While much of the Smart Grid public discussion has focused on additions to
the transmission (or long distance) grid and smart meters, both of which
are components of a Smart Grid, automating the electric distribution
(local) grid is an essential element to achieving these objectives.
"A modernized electric grid is absolutely essential to reducing energy
related harmful CO2 emissions which will grow by 50% from 2006 to 2030,"
Mr. Casey said during his testimony.
As Congress recognized in both the Energy Independence Act of 2007 and the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), the application of
Smart Grid technology to electric power is a key component of reducing
carbon emissions.
The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has estimated that here in the
United States, a Smart Grid would reduce carbon from electric power by 25%
or roughly 10% of overall U.S. CO2 emissions. "This savings," Mr. Casey
said, "is estimated to have the same impact as removing 140 million cars
from the road."
CURRENT is a leading Smart Grid provider and its open standards technology
is deployed by utilities worldwide, including on a project President Obama
highlighted last week at the signing ceremony for the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act.
Mr. Casey also said "regulatory changes will be essential to accelerate the
adoption of Smart Grids. As an integrated end-to-end solution, Smart Grid
creates value all along the utility, to its customers, and to society in
the form of fewer outages and less carbon. Regulatory policy has to be
structured to assure that entire value creation is included in the benefit
case so that utilities can be assured appropriate rate recovery."
According to analyses Current has performed, a deployment of a Smart Grid
would produce more than $3 billion of benefits for a utility serving 1
million homes over 17 years.
Other highlights from Mr. Casey's testimony include:
-- Smart Grid optimization can reduce electric generation and related
carbon by up to five percent without any change in consumer behavior.
-- While the case for using smart meters and other pricing systems for
commercial and industrial users is strong, the funding appropriated in the
American Reinvestment and Recovery Act should also be spent on implementing
Smart Grids.
-- Given the stimulus package, cap and trade systems, and renewable
portfolio standards, renewables will have a much greater, quicker impact on
the grid than people expect and Smart Grids are critical to their
widespread adoption.
Casey concluded his testimony by reinforcing the fact that Smart Grid could
be a substantial contributor to solving the problem of global warming. He
also reiterated to the Committee that Smart Grid projects are shovel-ready
within 12 weeks of funding, and will create long term, sustainable jobs for
Americans.
"In addition to the obvious benefits for energy efficiency and renewables,
encouraging a Smart Grid will also help American companies gain and
preserve market leadership in what is fast becoming a worldwide market.
Indeed, CURRENT and other American companies already are pursuing such
international opportunities, which will create high tech jobs here at
home."
Mr. Casey is the Chief Executive Officer and a Member of the Board of
Directors of CURRENT Group, LLC, a leading provider of Smart Grid
solutions.
For the full transcript of Casey's testimony, please visit:
www.currentgroup.com.
About CURRENT (
www.currentgroup.com)
CURRENT provides electric utilities a Smart Grid solution that increases
the efficiency and reliability of the electric grid while reducing the
environmental impact of electric usage. CURRENT's scalable solution
combines advanced sensing technology with low latency IP based
communications and enterprise analysis software and related services to
provide location-specific, real-time actionable data that is easily
integrated into a utility's existing IT infrastructure. The CURRENT Smart
Grid solution is being used by utilities around the world.
CURRENT, a private company, has received several awards, including the
World Economic Forum 2009 Technology Pioneer; Dow Jones 2008 Ten Most
Innovative Clean Tech Companies in Europe; 2006 Platts' "Global Energy
Commercial Technology of the Year" for its technology in relation to
emissions reduction, practicality, reliability and overall commercial
success and Red Herring's 2006 "Top 100 North America."
Contact Information: Contact:
John Moore
(202) 683-3110
JMoore@qorvis.com