The Smart Grid represents an opportunity to move the energy industry into a new era of reliability, availability, and efficiency that will contribute to our economic and environmental health. During the transition period, it will be critical to carry out testing, technology improvements, consumer education, development of standards and regulations, and information sharing between projects to ensure that the benefits we envision from the Smart Grid become a reality. The benefits associated with the Smart Grid include:
- more efficient transmission of electricity,
- quicker restoration of electricity after power disturbances,
- reduced operations and management costs for utilities, and ultimately lower power costs for consumers,
- reduced peak demand, which will also help lower electricity rates,
- increased integration of large-scale renewable energy systems,
- better integration of customer-owner power generation systems, including renewable energy systems,
- improved security.