"We need to start thinking out of the box..."

To help provoke some thinking that's out of the box...consider that a key element required enabling the rapid adoption of renews, especially south of the substation, will be real-time-all-the-time observability of the state of the distribution grid. To be clear, I'm suggesting that we need a new paradigm for operating the distribution grid. One that is real-time actual state, not an estimate. Not a model with some point-in-time data adjustments. A real-time, always-on visibility into the state of the grid, including the ability to see faults, transients, frequency modulation, and ultimately, providing the control systems to dynamically manage the grid. 

Of course, this sounds like pie-in-sky and, I would contend that the greatest constraint to achieving this is creating the communications networks necessary to instrument real-time observability. Ironically, this level of observability and interconnection exists in the transmission lines by virtue of coincident fiber. The question is: How to enable the communications on the distribution grid at scale, securely, with low latency, reliability and resilience that provides a cost effective, timely solution to today's challenges? 

Thinking outside of the box, ever notice that on many utility distribution poles, about 12 feet below the MV lines, there's a "comms" line? What if we could just tap into that wired communications line?

Gridmetrics believes this represents the easiest path, with the least friction, to enabling the rapid instrumentation of the distribution grid. This is critical to meet the needs of the "smart grid" and fundamental to providing the interconnections required for commercial DERs that live south of the substation. 

Gridmetrics has been exploring this concept. In some ways, it's just so obvious. In others, it's so out-of-the-box that it's not been contemplated. Turns out, the cable broadband networks overlap the last mile of the utility grid. This overlap is physically apparent when you just look at the lines on the poles and the neighborhood junction boxes. Cable broadband networks serve ~90% of US households (to be clear, that doesn't mean that 90% of US households are customers, only that they are service-able by cable broadband). The curious will also observe the the cable broadband networks are power-resilient by design. Meaning, they continue to operate even when commercial power is unavailable. 

That creates and interesting opportunity. We can leverage the existing cable broadband infrastructure which "powers" the last mile of the communications networks to rapidly supply the sensors (think PMU-like) and data backhaul enabling the "smart grid" and the commercial grade DER interconnects. 

For those that care, let's chat.

//slc