Smart Grid Implementation Strategy: Moving Forward
The DOE Smart Grid Implementation Strategy team (previously the Modern Grid Initiative) was conceived at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) six years ago in January 2005.  Its mission was to “Accelerate Grid Modernization in the United States.” As part of that mission, the SGIS team formulated a Smart Grid vision that has been widely accepted as a foundation for Smart Grid planning. Today, a number of Smart Grid projects, including about 140 that are DOE-supported, are in various stages of implementation across the US. Clearly, much has been accomplished in the industry, but it is now time to transition from getting started to getting the job done.

Smart Grid Implementation: Challenges and Solutions
Today’s projects will generate a significant experience base, which if shared with other stakeholders, could provide substantial benefits to the industry and society in general. The sharing of “Lessons Learned”, which can prevent mistakes from being repeated, and “Best Practices”, which can enable others to benefit from proven techniques, can make the Smart Grid transition more effective and efficient. But, the sharing of Smart Grid experiences faces a number of challenges including:

• Processes for generating a rich stream of Smart Grid experiences that can be broadly shared are not currently in place
• Stakeholders may be reluctant to share their Smart Grid experiences, particularly lessons learned.

These challenges have been addressed in the SGIS white paper, “Sharing Smart Grid Experiences through Performance Feedback”. Smart Grid stakeholders are asked to consider our approaches to these challenges and offer comment. While our ideas in the area of experience-sharing are still preliminary, we are optimistic they will be valued by the Smart Grid community as well.

Smart Grid Implementation: Getting it Done
Focused on the “getting it done” phase, the SGIS team is now providing support to many Smart Grid organizations who want to share their experiences. These organizations and their SGIS support services include:

National Action Plan (NAP) Coalition - SGIS team is assisting the coalition in the development of case studies highlighting best practices and lessons learned. http://www.demandresponsecommittee.org/national_action_plan.htm

Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute (SEI) - SGIS team members have completed certification training as Smart Grid Maturity Model (SGMM) Navigators and will assist SEI in the facilitation of Navigator workshops. http://www.sei.cmu.edu/smartgrid/tools/

Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative - as an affiliate member, SGIS assists SGCC committees where appropriate. http://smartgridcc.org/

Although the SGIS team’s main focus is now on Smart Grid implementation, we recognize that a large number of stakeholders, particularly in the consumer area, still want to learn more about the fundamentals of the Smart Grid and how it could benefit them. As always, SGIS team members are available to present such Smart Grid concepts to interested organizations.

Please contact the team at smartgrid@netl.doe.gov to schedule a speaker, ask questions or provide input about any of the areas described above.