Basel Abu-Eisheh

S2627183

The Big Smart Grid Challenges

The growing demand for more sustainable and efficient energy systems
has led the world to consider replacing the current electric grids. Even
though improvements have been made over the time, which can be
considered as a great achievement, the fact that the demand for
electricity in the world continues to grow requires us to take actions.
Therefore, we need to modernize the existing electric grid in order to meet
growing electricity demand, decentralize the power grid and help
accommodating more energy-efficient technologies. Smart grid enable
newer technologies to be integrated, such as wind and solar energy
production. Moreover, the participation of consumers will allow utilities to
better communicate with us and help manage our electricity needs.
However, we have to consider the social, financial and technical aspects in
order to successfully implement the smart grid.
Since consumers are the main component in the smart grid network,
necessary changes to the consumers behavior must be made. In addition
to that, the consumer must embrace the concept of smart grid and be able
to make decision on how to better manage his electricity consumption
resulting in more efficient network. This will pose a significant challenge
for the smart grid: How to motivate the consumer and guarantee his
response or cooperation? A suitable answer lies in a combination of
incentives, such as smart meters and a dynamic pricing scheme. Smart
meters will allow the consumer to oversight and manage his energy
consumption in more efficient ways, and since the smart meter
communicates directly with the energy supplying company, real-time
readings will allow the company to get accurate readings resulting in more
accurate bills. A dynamic pricing scheme will allow the consumer to
benefit from a reduced electricity price if he manage to use his appliances
during off-peak time.
We must not overlook the set-up costs associated with implementing
smart grids, since smart grid deployment will require a huge amount of

Basel Abu-Eisheh
S2627183

financial support and subsidies. Unfortunately, there is no way to avoid

these costs. But on the bright side, the benefits that will come from the
implementation of smart grid will outweigh the expenses. For example,
smart grids will allow the utilities to provide more reliable energy, and the
two-way information flow between the utility and the consumer will result
in a better management of operation costs. And let us not forget the
ability of smart grids to locate and fix the root cause of outages or
blackouts that usually happens in extreme weather conditions.
The last point I will be addressing is the technical challenges. For example,
What about the cyber-security and the privacy of consumers information ?
How are we going to defend the network from malicious attacks that may
block the flow of information or even corrupt it resulting in a massive
damage to the power supplies and widespread electricity outages.
Information Technology companies must provide us with software solutions
that will prevent any security breaches within network and provide utilities
with automation solutions for energy management and load control. In
addition to that, governments must introduce policies that prevent utilities
from sharing consumers information to any third parties without the
consumer consent.
In conclusion, smart grid might be the most convenient solution for our
needs . However, the benefits of any innovation must outweigh the risks.
Will the governments and investors be able to provide sufficient financial
support ? What measures will be taken to prevent any malicious attacks?
And most importantly, will the consumer be satisfied with the upcoming
change?