Power delivery, the smart way [Video]

Congress contemplates upgrading the nation’s dumb electricity-delivery infrastructure to a smart grid

Credit: Shutterstock

Electricity prices are costly, sure, but you know what else is expensive? Power outages. They cost U.S. business at least $50 billion a year, according to Electric Power Research Institute estimates, as computer screens go black, servers stop humming, conveyor belts stop moving, and workers step out for coffee. (By an odd coincidence, InfoWorld’s San Francisco office is suffering a power outage as I write this article at my home office in Sacramento. I think I’ve discovered another benefit to telecommuting.)

It’s rather heartening to see that elected officials have taken notice of the problems with the nation’s energy-delivery systems, which have proven to be, at times, unreliable (rolling blackouts, anyone?) and unable to meet the nation’s ever-increasing demand.

Part of the proposed energy billfrom members of Congress calls for the possible development of a countrywide smart electric grid, a system that could …