The electric power industry is transforming the nation’s electric grid by incorporating telecommunications and information technology infrastructure into utility operations. These new capabilities will provide electric companies and customers greater control over electricity use.
By enhancing the grid, the industry is creating a platform for new technologies to increase system reliability and efficiency. This 21st-century grid will provide electric companies with a nearly real-time situational awareness capability, which will increase the industry’s resiliency against physical and cyber attacks.
This new infrastructure platform will provide important benefits to customers, including significant opportunities for energy savings and a variety of potential new services. For example, smart meters measure electricity usage far more frequently than traditional meters and can send data to and from electric companies and their customers.