Author: Shane Schick
Date published: October 1, 2024
One of the most common symbols to represent electricity is a light bulb — the same object that represents a breakthrough idea. As the need to provide cost-effective, reliable power becomes increasingly complex, utility cooperatives are beginning to see smart grid technology deployments as the breakthrough idea they need to modernize power distribution.
Cooperatives are playing an increasingly large role in the energy sector. According to a 2023 report from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), utility cooperatives power 56% of the United States land mass, including 42 million people and 21.5 million businesses, homes, schools and farms.1 As member-based organizations, utility cooperatives have a heightened responsibility to provide outstanding levels of service. They are also private, non-profit organizations, which means they must be especially mindful of the strategic investments they make.
According to the NRECA report, utility cooperatives are grappling with a slew of challenges, from retiring and replacing the current generation of electricity equipment to supply chain challenges, all while keeping rates low for members.
Technology is seen as a way to enhance grid resiliency, and the majority of cooperatives are already taking advantage of emerging tools. For instance, the NRECA report found that 81% of its members use advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) smart meters.2 These tools enable two-way communications with their members and can improve data collection for more accurate readings. Smart meters are just one example of how smart grid technology can improve the power supply while bringing greater efficiency to operations. The second generation of AMI smart meters, called AMI 2.0, promises to offer more visibility and control and real-time grid management, among other features, according to Deloitte.
Smart grids are a form of electricity delivery infrastructure that improves network efficiency and resilience. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, smart grids use digital technologies and data to enable organizations like utility cooperatives to improve the way they observe and control what is happening within their network at any given time. As an added benefit, a 2022 report from the International Energy Agency found that monitoring and managing electricity via smart grids could also support greater environmental sustainability—though investments in the technology would need to double by 2030 in order to meet net zero emissions targets.
The shift to modernizing power distribution is already underway. Using smart grid technology to strengthen their business is one of the top three motivations for investing in broadband, according to a 2022 benchmark report of rural electricity cooperatives.3 More recently, a group of nearly 70 utility co-ops applied for bipartisan funding to accelerate their adoption of smart grid technology, according to Smart Energy International. Projects for funding include unmanned aerial systems, tools to automate power distribution and advanced analytics to boost member satisfaction.
Using a combination of a 4G LTE network, sensors connected to the Internet of Things (IoT) and a cloud-based management platform, some forward-thinking utility co-ops are building Field Area Networks to help them realize the advantages of smart grids, including:
Utility companies are turning to advanced technologies to create modern and smarter grids. Intelligent Energy integrates several technologies and solutions that work together to help enhance grid transformation. This can make it easier to use Internet of Things (IoT) devices and services to connect your operations with near real-time data and help simplify some of the complexity of grid modernization. By using edge computing, where MEC nodes are available, utility co-ops can process smart grid data closer to where it is consumed. This reduces latency compared to transmitting data back and forth to the cloud. The result? Co-ops can take action more quickly to repair equipment, or even upgrade it before it breaks. This can boost employee safety while ensuring members get the power they need. Dakota Valley Electric Cooperative is a good example of how this works in practice. The organization's smart grid deployment allows its team to get alerts about maintenance issues. This means less manual troubleshooting and improved cost savings from fewer truck rolls. Now, Dakota Valley is .better able to balance electrical supply and demand for its members.
No one wants to have to dispute their electricity bill, and no utility wants to find out one of its employees took an incorrect reading. For Ashley-Chicot Electric Cooperative, adopting smart metering has helped its team make fewer mistakes and even take meter readings remotely. In fact, Ashely-Chicot's use of smart grid technologies is paving the way for even more advanced offerings, such as allowing members to pre-pay for the energy they can afford and the ability to alert members about an outage via text notification.
Like most organizations, utility co-ops do not want to cause significant disruption to their existing operations by modernizing their infrastructure. The good news is that working with the right partner and solution suite allows co-ops to pay as they go and modernize based on their business goals, such as balancing grid loads or promoting conservation efforts. A managed solution also means that utility co-ops can retain control over their environment by tapping into dashboards and reporting, without having to bring on additional IT staff. Instead, they can power on and create a better experience for every one of their members.
Learn more about how smart grids are transforming the utility sector.
The author of this content is a paid contributor for Verizon.
1National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, America's Electric Cooperatives, April 2023, page 1.
2Ibid, page 4.
3National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative, Rural Electric Cooperative Broadband Benchmarking Report, October 2022, page 6.