More energy challenges from generation to consumption.
More energy solutions from GE.
Challenge:
Inefficiency and the need for overcapacity
waste money and resources.
Real.
Efficient.
Solutions.
The grid is wasting energy at every point during every second of every
day lots of energy. And that costs lots of money. The cost of generating
a kilowatt-hour of electricity is 70 to 170 times the cost of "saving" a kWh
through efficiency. GE's smart grid technologies help reduce the flow
of lost energy and wasted money. We have solutions that help lower
delivery losses in transmission and distribution, and technologies that
anticipate and monitor demand to help you minimize overcapacity. In
the end, consumers and businesses actually use more of the power
you bring into the system.
It's Working:
AEP
TM
(American Electric Power Co., Inc.) is addressing the waste and inefficiency factors designed into our power delivery model. Utilizing GE's
Coordinated Volt/VAR-Control (CVVC) system, AEP is dynamically controlling voltage and power factors on feeders to minimize losses and reduce
customer energy consumption. By maintaining power factors near unity, AEP is reducing reactive power loading. They're applying more real
power and lowering reactive power waste all while maintaining customer service voltage standards. The bottom line? AEP needs to generate less
power to meet the same consumer demand.
1 kWh: generation 70 -170 x > saving
Challenge:
Power interruptions drag down the economy and disrupt our lives.
Real.
Reliable.
Solutions.
Power interruptions cost European Union businesses 150 billion each year.
(1)
Outages cost the U.S. economy an average of $1.5 billion each week $80 billion,
with a `B' each year.
(2)
They cost utilities in penalties, repairs, overtime and
customer service. GE's smart grid technologies deliver dramatic reliability gains.
With smarter networks, focused maintenance, better understanding and
greater load control, you have what it takes to prevent outages. There are
technologies to anticipate and prevent problems before they happen. And
when unplanned outages do occur, smart grid outage management systems
can reroute power to minimize the outage, analyze needed repairs and dispatch
crews more effectively to get the job done faster and more efficiently.
It's Working:
When Great Britain's Office of Gas and Electricity Markets introduced a Quality of Service Interruptions Incentive Scheme, EDF
TM
Energy leveraged
its GE Distribution Management System (DMS) to cash in on the program's incentives and avoid paying penalties. EDF Energy, one of the UK's
largest energy companies, worked with GE to create automatic fault isolation and rerouting schemes that utilized the DMS hardware and software
already in place. As a result, fewer consumers are affected by outages and service is restored faster. The system resulted in a 20% reduction
in customer interruptions and a 30% reduction in customer minutes lost in the first 18 months of operation. The cash payoff? EDF received a
regulatory performance reward of over £1 million.
(1)
Study conducted by Jonathan Mason for ECI.
(2)
Study conducted by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of
Electric Transmission and Distribution.
99.999999