The recent heat wave in Texas has been accompanied by warnings from ERCOT (Electricity Reliability Council Of Texas) about rolling blackouts - intentional and temporary interruptions in the electrical supply to different areas of the grid on a rolling basis. As the mercury rises, air conditioning systems have to work extra hard to keep homes and businesses at comfortable temperatures. This greatly increases electricity demand and challenges the generation equipment to keep up with supply. Rolling blackouts which typically last from 15 to 45 minutes are used as a mechanism to reduce peak electricity demand.
Rolling blackouts cause a loss of productivity for both businesses and individuals. They also add to consumers' discomfort in these extreme temperatures. So is there a better way to implement peak load reduction? The Smart Electricity Meters that are being deployed throughout the country might have the answer. These Smart Meters are already equipped with capability to communicate with devices in the Home Area Network (HAN). HAN refers to the eco-system of devices within the home that connect to the smart grid through the smart meter or a home energy gateway. Devices in the HAN could be In-Home-Displays that display electricity consumption or rates, or they could be Programmable Communicating Thermostats (PCT) capable of communicating with the Smart Meter. For example, when the peak load on the grid becomes unmanageable, the utility could send a signal to a PCT enrolled in a demand response program to cycle the air conditioners on and off. This helps with load reduction on the grid, yet maintains the customer's home at a comfortable temperature of say 78 degrees. Similarly, the utility could send a signal to enrolled load control devices to disconnect non-critical devices such as pool pumps during peak load times in the afternoon.
Such demand response programs are already in place in some areas and can be the first line of defense for utilities in a series of load reduction activities. Widespread adoption of such programs could certainly help reduce or eliminate threats of rolling blackouts. Although demand response programs raise debates about consumer privacy and controls, they do seem better than the alternative which is to have a complete interruption of electric supply.
