January 14, 2013

MA DPU Grid Modernization Working GroupGrid-Facing Subcommittee

Ram Rao, Chief Technology OfficerAmbient Corporation

January 14, 2013

Copyright© 2013 Ambient Corporation

Ambient’s role in the Smart Grid ecosystem.

• A leading communications & applications platform supplier based in Newton, MA• Technologies enable utilities to effectively deploy & manage multiple mission

critical grid applications• Platform provider to the largest utility in North America• 12+ years of development and field deployment (125K+ Nodes) • Patented and proprietary technologies • Founded in 1996, went public in 1998 – AMBT(Nasdaq)

The Challenges…• The grid infrastructure has aged to a state that cannot meet the

changed nature & expectations of the consumer• Modernization of the grid:

• extends beyond new poles, wires and metering• requires new sensors and IT resources that can be adapted to changing consumer

patterns, new applications, and enhanced sensor technologies• minimizes the stranding of legacy assets, while establishing an upgrade path forward in

the reinvestment cycle• must address the evolving needs of the consumer, utility and regulatory constituencies

• The need to convert the grid from a one-way to a two-way flow of energy• Demand Response • Metering – supportive of legacy assets while establishing foundation for

migration from AMR to AMI• Improve the efficiency of the distribution system


The Questions...

•What can the grid look like?

• How different will it be from today’s?

•What can it do differently or better than today?


An intelligent grid can evolve to meet changing technologies & demands…• A one-way energy flow becomes two-way to accommodate a

variety of Distributed Generation resources

• Intelligence throughout increasingly integrates with centralized management systems & processes• Resiliency

Outage detection Storm response

• Legacy assets are pulled forward• AMR to AMI

• New applications to meet the changing needs of managing the grid and which suit the evolving profiles of consumers


What the grid will do differently & better than today – Resiliency.

• Intelligence will bring the Utility agility and greater control of their resources

• Remote fault identification and isolation substantially improve a Utility’s ability to address:• Outage Detection & Monitoring

• Storm Response

• Self-healing


What the grid will do differently & better than today – Enabling a broader variety of Distributed Generation resources.• Solar, other DG, CHP• Storage• Electric Vehicles• Regulatory landscape similar for all distributed generation

technologies• Variable output vs. continuous technologies must be considered

when determining feasibility and “level of modernization” for two-way energy flow

• State level microgrid programs are accessing clean DG as main source of generation• Helps address local power reliability• Increases local resiliency• Introduces the topic of “smart grid” in terms of critical load

managementCopyright© 2013 Ambient Corporation

What the grid will do differently & better than today – Improved Efficiency.• Volt/VAR

• Asset Management - Proactive Monitoring

• Identification & Monitoring of System Loss


What the grid will do differently & better than today – Communications with the Consumer.

• Continuously improved Time-of-Use/Variable Pricing schemes

• More accurate and timely information on Outages

• Retail services by third-party suppliers

• Evolving roles for utilities and public utility commissions• Ability to respond to info through third parties’ products and

servicesCopyright© 2013 Ambient Corporation

The Benefits – Enhanced Service & Improved Economics• Empowering customers with information on

consumption

• Ability of the utility to communicate ‘price’ information in real-time• Price responsive demand can stem, even

reverse, perpetual increases in peak demand

• Third-party applications and services available to both the consumer and the utility


MetaVu Smart Grid Audit Summary• The Public Utility Commission commissioned an

independent third party review on the cost and benefits of the Duke Ohio smart deployment, focusing on the 20 year NPV of the project.

• Numbers were extrapolated from 31% of full deployment • 20 year NPV operational benefits of the deployment to be

about $382.8M in a range from ($325.8M – $447.5M

45.0%

45.0%

10.0%

AMI Volt/VAR Other DA

Benefits by Category(% of $382.8M total)

$134.7

$129.5

$65.6

$53.0

Avoided O&M Avoided Fuel CostsDeferred Capital Increased Revenue

Benefits by Category($ Millions)

Smart Grid Emerging Technology RoadmapIncremental(0 – 3 Years)

Strategic(3 – 10 Years)

Transformational(10+ Years)

04/24/23

Smart Grid Emerging Technology - Gap Identification

Grid Devices Telecommunications Optimization

Ram Rao

Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer

(617) [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Documents

January 14, 2013