TECHNOLOGY FOR CHANGE

Smarter Power Technology May Stop Heat-Related Blackouts Across the Globe

Dave Greenfield | Date: 07-29-10 | Comments

Con Edison, which provides power to most of New York City, has recently implemented a smart application to help stave off blackouts in the metropolis. The app rations how much air conditioning homes can use, thereby avoiding overloading the system.

Manhattan residents may not have realized it, but a smart application pioneered by much-maligned utility provider Con Edison saved the city from a heat-induced blackout this summer. With temperatures soaring past the triple-digit mark, the smart app was able to control how much air conditioning a number of homes were allowed to have, therefore rationing power and avoiding a catastrophe.

Source: Con Edison

So is the future for power generators around the world. The Con Edison experiment is said to have rerouted power to nearly 20,000 homes in New York City. Soon, every home in America will be subject to the same kind of smart control if and when a blackout is eminent.

According to industry experts, overload is the single biggest cause of blackouts in major metropolitan areas. No one wants their air conditioning turned off by the power company, but the alternative is that an entire city bakes, traffic lights go offline, subways grind to a halt, and life as we know it stops in its tracks.

It wasn't that long ago that Con Edison was forced to pick up the phone, contact its largest power consumers and politely ask them to turn down their energy consumption. This method was greeted with predictable results: Some obeyed, some didn't. The New York City area has suffered a number of major blackouts over the last few decades, and the ever-aging infrastructure is in dire need of updating. This smart app is the first step in bringing power consumption into the 21^st century.

With the worldwide implementation of in-home smart meters and other "smart" technology, power companies will have a much clearer idea of who is consuming power, when and why. So the next time your AC turns off unexpectedly during a heat wave, don't pick up the phone to complain. Your power company is likely trying to stave off a systemwide failure.