Oncor Joins IBM's Global Intelligent Utility Network Coalition; Furthers Smart Grid Collaboration

Progress Energy hosts coalition members from six countries working to advance Smart Grid development

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Jun 09, 2010, 09:00 ET

RALEIGH, N.C., June 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that Oncor, a Texas-based utility that delivers power to more than 3 million homes and businesses, has joined the Global Intelligent Utility Network Coalition. This group of utilities works to further the adoption of smarter energy grids around the world and now collectively serves more than 115 million energy consumers globally.

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"Oncor is honored to be included in this prestigious group. As technological advances transform the utility industry, we understand the need for collaboration," said Oncor Senior Vice President of Asset Management and Engineering Jim Greer. "Smarter energy grids are happening now, reshaping the way we do business. A lot is changing for utilities around the world. Technology is changing the way we manage reliability and provide service—more information and tools are available to our customers. We look forward to working with GIUNC members and sharing information about the great progress we're making in Texas."

Influencer Event Assembles Smart Grid Industry Leaders

Yesterday marked the kickoff of the coalition's semi-annual meeting where member utilities join to undertake collaborative initiatives and benchmark their progress. The first event of the week gathered external audiences including local, city and federal officials to share trends and techniques on how to accelerate smart grid development. Speakers at the event included Patricia Hoffman, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy; Bill Johnson, CEO, Progress Energy; Guido Bartels, General Manager, IBM Energy & Utilities Industry and Chairman, GridWise Alliance; Jesse Berst, Managing Director, GlobalSmartEnergy.com; and additional members of the coalition. The event took place in Raleigh, NC, where coalition member Progress Energy's headquarters are located.

"Adding intelligent technologies to the power delivery system is one part of a comprehensive, balanced solution to addressing our world's energy and environmental challenges. This global coalition has accelerated our learning curve on smart grid technologies, and we look forward to this collaboration," said Progress Energy Chairman, President and CEO Bill Johnson. "We're honored to co-host this meeting with IBM in our company's headquarters city of Raleigh."

New Projects

The coalition's first collaborative effort was the creation of a Smart Grid Maturity Model (SGMM), a tool that benchmarks current progress and plans long term smart grid programs. More than 70 utilities have taken the SGMM assessment to date, and since the GIUNC donated the SGMM to Carnegie Mellon's Software Engineering Institute last year, it continues to be an effective method of evaluation for utilities around the world.

New projects include:

Ways to understand the effect on emissions due to Smart Grid deployment. The group has developed a Smart Grid Carbon Model (SGCM) that allows utilities to analyze different carbon levers due to various smart grid investments
Issues related to integrating distributed energy resources. The group recently completed an extensive study on Microgrids and is now shifting its focus to studying grid impact and business strategy related to electric vehicles.
The wants and needs of the consumer related to smart grid based on learnings from current pilot projects. The group is identifying customer behavior when given certain options, types of technologies that they are likely to adopt and how they perceive service value.
Methods that evaluate regulatory models. In order for regulators to make more informed decisions, the coalition is also developing a system dynamics model that captures all the business case benefits that Smart Grid enables including improved reliability, grid efficiency improvements, renewable energy, CO2 emissions reduction, electric vehicle adoption rates and customer conservation.

"Oncor just reached a major milestone by installing its one millionth smart meter," said Guido Bartels, General Manager, IBM Energy & Utilities Industry and Chairman, GridWise Alliance. "This coalition was designed to bring a diverse set of companies together to learn from one another and this type of experience broadens our knowledge base even further."

About Oncor

Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC ("Oncor") is a regulated electricity distribution and transmission business that uses superior asset management skills to provide reliable electricity delivery to consumers. Oncor operates the largest distribution and transmission system in Texas, delivering power to more than 3 million homes and businesses and operating approximately 117,000 miles of transmission and distribution lines in Texas. While Oncor is owned by a limited number of investors (including majority owner, Energy Future Holdings Corp.), Oncor is managed by its Board of Directors, which is comprised of a majority of independent directors.

About the Global Intelligent Utility Network Coalition

In 2007, IBM formed a coalition of innovative utility companies to accelerate the use of smart grid technologies and move the industry forward to a sustainable energy future. The coalition pioneers changes in the way power is generated, distributed and used by adding digital intelligence to the current systems to reduce outages and faults, manage demand, and integrate energy from renewable sources such as wind and solar, and also empowers the consumer to make more informed decisions about their energy use.

Members include CenterPoint Energy, Country Energy, CPFL, DONG Energy, Liander, North Delhi Power Limited, Oncor, Pepco Holdings, Inc, Progress Energy, San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Gas Co.

For more information about the Global IUN Coalition, please visit http://www.ibm.com/ibm/ideasfromibm/us/smartplanet/topics/utilities/20081124/index.shtml?&re=sph.

IBM is involved in more than 100 Smart Grid engagements in mature and emerging markets. For more information about Smarter Energy at IBM, please visit: http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/presskit/27725.wss.