Once just a far-fetched idea, smart grid is now touching almost every country in Europe.
Though only a few European countries–Malta and Italy–have deployed a country-wide large scale smart grid, many utilities in Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scandinavia, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, Cyprus and Israel are beginning to test the new technology and assess its potential for long term cost-savings, two IBM executives working in the continent told Breaking Energy.
For its part, IBM Global Services is “pushing for implementation of smart grid,” by forming broad-based consumer and industry-wide coalitions that hope to nudge governments and regulators forward on smart grid, IBM’s North East Europe Leader for the Energy & Utilities Industry Gavin Jones told Breaking Energy.
SmartGridGB was spearheaded by Jones and he now serves as acting chairman. The group’s aim is to bring together relevant stakeholders in order to “achieve” smart grid, according to the group’s website.
“IBM has been very instrumental in getting these set up,” Jones said. And “we are getting a lot of great support.”
According to Jones, there is less perceived need for smart grid in Europe, because the continent’s electric transmission system is generally much more reliable than the American one. Much of the infrastructure was destroyed in World War II he said and was rebuilt in the 1950’s, making it more modern than many aging American power lines.
He said IBM is building coalitions like SmartGridGB across the continent to galvanize the much needed support that will ultimately drive smart grid policy forward and bring IBM new customers.
Small Steps On A Long Journey
But, Ricardo Klatovsky, IBM’s VP of Energy and Utilities for Southwest Europe told Breaking Energy the global information systems company is not trying to pressure utilities with unrealistic time frames.
“Italy and Malta were exceptions,” he said. Most countries want to start with a proof of concept, small scale pilot programs, larger scale pilots and only then will they consider implementation in small sections of the grid. The “smart grid journey,” he said is a long one that each country will embark on at its own pace.
He also said IBM recognizes that the most pressing issue for most utilities is the economics and there are cases where the cost of smart grid implementation still don’t make sense. In some countries, for example, shaky economies are making long-term investments in energy infrastructure impossible, Jones said.
“We love to help our clients but we agree with our clients that there are some places where there is no business case,” Klatovsky said.
