TheSmartGridEvolution

ImpactonSkilledUtilityTechnicianPositions

Definition
TheSmartGridisnotjustacompilationofsmartmeters,wind,solar,orplugnelectricvehicles.
Insteaditisaseriesoftechnologiesthatwillallowcompaniestointegrate,interfacewithand
intelligentlycontrolalloftheseinnovations.Asthetechnologyevolves,theSmartGridwillallowa
twowayflowofelectricityandinformationthatiscapableofmonitoringeverythingfrompowerplants
tocustomerpreferencesandindividualappliances/equipment.TheSmartGridwillproviderealtime
informationandnearinstantaneousbalanceofsupplyanddemandatthedevicelevel.

TheSmartGridwillbeimplementedincrementallyoverthenexttwodecadesastechnology,pricing,
policy,andregulationchanges.Assuch,theadoptionofSmartGridtechnologieswillvarybyElectric
andNaturalGasUtilityandtheirstateposition.

SmartGridcharacteristicsinclude:
1. Moreconsumerparticipationindeterminingelectricusagethroughaninteractiveelectrical
network.Consumerswillhaverealtimeinformationonpricingandusagewhichwillallowfor
informeddecisionsonequipment/applianceusage.ASmartGridwillincreaseenergyefficiency
byallowingconsumerstomakedecisionsregardingwhentorunequipmentandwhentoturnit
off,suchasduringpeaktimeorhighcostperiods.(ConsumerPremisesimpact)
2. Twowaydigitalcommunicationswillprovidedistributionnetworkoperatorswithoutage
informationandequipmentinconsumerspremiseswithdemandandpricinginformation.
(Distributionimpact)
3. Abilitytobalancereliabilityandpowerqualitywhereindividuallyneededratherthanwholesale
acrossthenetworkoraportionofthenetwork.(Transmissionimpact)

ThecomponentsofaSmart
Gridasshowninthechart
(frompresentationgivenat
theCEWD2009Annual
SummitbyBarbaraTyran,
Director,Washington
RelationsatEPRI)include
communications,
renewableenergysources
thatcanprovideconsumers
withtheirownpower
sourcebutalsobe
connectedtothegrid,
advancedmeteringto
providerealtimeusage
andpricinginformation,
dynamiccontroloperations

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forutilitiestomonitorandmanagethenetworkduringpeaktimesandduringoutages,andsmart
appliances/equipmentwhichwillinterpretthepricingandusageinformationtoregulateusage,
therebyincreasingenergyefficiency.

ImplicationtoIndustryWorkforce
Theskillsandcompetenciesdefinedinthe
EnergyCompetencyModel:Generation,
Transmission,andDistributionaretheskills
thatwillcontinuetobeneededforthe
design,implementation,andmaintenance
oftheSmartGridnetwork.Trainingwillbe
requiredasnewtechnologiesare
introduced,buttheexistingcompetencies
willnotchange.Forexample,Information
TechnologyisacompetencyinTier2ofthe
model,butwilltakeonadditional
importancewithSmartGridtechnologies.
UpgradingofInformationTechnologyskills,
particularlywithengineerpositions,willbe
critical.Managingthedatarequiredto
operateandmaintaintheSmartGrid
systemwillrequiredataanalyticand
modelingskills.Individualswishingtomoveintoutilitycareersmayneedtohavetrainingtoenhance
theirskills.

Theintroductionofnewtechnologydoesnot,inandofitself,requirenewskills.Theuseofcurrent
twowaycommunications,suchasSCADA,haspreparedthesubstation,relay,anddistributionnetwork
operatorswiththeskillstomanagedata,troubleshootproblems,andinitiatecorrectiveactionswhere
necessary.Thefollowingisanexampleofhowtheintroductionofanewtechnologydoesnotchange
thebasiccompetencyrequirementsbutdoesaddtheneedforanewcompetency(thefirsttime
introduced)orrefreshertrainingonanewversionortypeofequipment.

Pencil&Ledger
Paper
Mathematics
Planning&
Organizing
ProblemSolving
AttentiontoDetail
Additional
competency

SPREADSHEETTECHNOLOGY
AddingMachine/
Lotus123
Calculator
Mathematics
Mathematics
Planning&
Planning&
Organizing
Organizing
ProblemSolving
ProblemSolving
AttentiontoDetail
AttentiontoDetail
Useofhandtools
Basiccomputer
skills

Excel
Mathematics
Planning&
Organizing
ProblemSolving
AttentiontoDetail
Newformulaor
structure

Thisreviewvalidatestheimportanceoftrainingonfoundationalskills,sothatemployeesinskilled
utilitytechnicianpositionswillhavethecriticalskillsandknowledgetoadapttoindustrychanges.

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SmartGridImplementationimpactspositionsinEnergyTransmissionandDistributionandcanbe
lookedatinthreegroupings.

ConsumerPremises
CurrentSkilledUtilityTechnicianPositions:
MeterReaders
MeterTechnicians
MechanicalTechnicians(inlargecommercialandindustrialcustomerpremises)
Electricians(inlargecommercialandindustrialcustomerpremises)

SmartGridImpactonWork:InstallationandmaintenanceofSmartMeters;Installationand
maintenanceofequipmentfortwowaycommunicationwithappliancesandotherinhomedevices.

ImpactonSkillsandCompetencies:
Utilityworkerswillneedtohavemoredirectcontactwithcustomers.Theywillneedtobeableto
understandpricinginformation,appliance/equipmentconnectiontothegrid,anddatamanagement
inordertoensurethatconsumersunderstandtheinformationtheyarereceiving.Therewillalsobe
anincreasedneedforconsumereducationandpublicrelationstosimplifytheinformationthe
consumerreceivessothatusage/demanddecisionscanbemadeeasily.Thiswillimpactpositionsin
CustomerService,Marketing,andPublicRelations.

Withtheadventofautomatedmeterreadingandtimeofdaymetering,currentmeterreadersare
consideringotheropportunitieswithintheircompany.Oneofthoseopportunitiesistomovetoa
metertechnicianposition.Themeterreaderwouldneedtrainingtomeettheskillrequirementsof
thisnewjobandtopassthepreemploymenttestforthatjob.However,thebasicskillsforthe
metertechnician(whetherinaSmartGridenvironmentornot)arethesame.(SeetheEnergy
CompetencyModelfordetailedcompetencydefinitions.)

Incumbentskilledcraftworkersthatinstallandrepairequipmentinaconsumerspremiseswillneed
trainingtoupskillthemselves.Forexample,amechanicaltechnicianworksinaconsumers
premisemaintainingequipment.Withtheintroductionofmoresophisticatedelectronicsto
managetheequipmentwithinaplantorhome,themechanicaltechnicianwillneedtoenhance
his/herskillstohaveelectrical/electronicexperience,includingknowledgeofprogrammablelogic
controls,basicelectronicscomponents(suchastransistorsBJT,FET,IGFET,MOSFET,SCR,and
diodes),circuitfunctions(suchasswitchingamplifiers,voltageregulation,limiters,and
rectification),instrumentationschematics,controlcircuitry,grounddetectionandprotective
relaying(includingtheuseofassociateddrawingsfordiagnosingcircuittrouble),advanced
electronicstheory,includingoperationalamplifiers,integratedcircuitsandsolidstatecircuitry,
digitalelectronics,includingthedifferenttypeoflogicsusedandmethodsforprogrammingand
controllingcircuittimingandelectricalcircuitandinstrumentloopschematics.

Distribution
CurrentSkilledUtilityTechnicianPositions:
Lineworkers
SubstationMechanics
SubstationOperators
RelayTechnicians

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DistributionNetworkOperators(notoneofourspecificjobs)

SmartGridImpactonWork:Installationandmaintenanceofcommunicationequipmentat
substationsandswitchingstationsoronpoletopswillprovidethedistributionnetworkoperators
withoutageinformationandcustomerusage.Powerqualityissuesanddataoncustomerusage
patternswillassistengineersintroubleshootingequipmentconfigurationsandinstallationor
upgradingofequipment.

ImpactonSkillsandCompetencies:
TheabilitytoanalyzethedatafromthetwowaycommunicationsoftheSmartGrid(consumer
usage/demand,powerquality,poweroutages,etc.)willbeacriticalskillforthedistributionnetwork
operators.Today,thesejobsuseSCADAtomanagethenetwork,withdatacominginonaperiodic
basis.SmartGridimplementationwillprovidethatdataonaninstantaneousbasis.Leveragingthe
equipmentintheSmartGridwillrequirequickreflexesandtroubleshootingabilities.Upskillingof
individualstofitintoothercraftpositionswillbecriticalforthesuccessfulimplementationofSmart
Gridcomponents.

Transmission
CurrentSkilledUtilityTechnicianPositions:
TransmissionTowerWorker
TransmissionNetworkOperator(notoneofourskilledpositions)

SmartGridImpactonWork:Integrationofrenewableenergysourcesanddistributedgenerationat
aconsumerspremisewillbecriticaltotheefficientandcosteffectiveoperationofthetransmission
network.Operatorswillhaveinstantaneousinformationonplantavailabilityandtransmissionline
problemsinordertorebalancethesourcesofgeneration.

ImpactonSkillsandCompetencies:
Transmissionworkerswillneedtobeabletoensurethatalternativeenergytechnologies,suchas
windandsolar,canbehookeduptothegridwithsufficienttransmissionaccess.Distributed
generationataconsumerspremiseswillbeavailabletoprovideexcesspowertothegrid.The
managementoftheTransmissiongridbyIndependentSystemOperators(ISOs)orRegional
TransmissionOrganizations(RTOs)willbeexpandedwiththeintegrationofalternativefuelsources,
distributedgeneration,andpluginelectricvehicleseachofwhichcancontributepowertothe
grid.

Conclusion
Thecompetenciesrequiredbylineworkers,powerplantoperators,relayandsubstationtechnicians,
andotherskilledcraftpositionsintheelectricenergyindustrywillnotchange.Newtrainingwillbe
requiredtounderstandthenewtechnologyandnewproceduresorprotocols.Thoseindividualswhose
jobsmaybeeliminatedorseverelychangedduetoSmartGridimplementation,suchasmeterreaders,
willneedtoacquirenewskillstomoveintoadifferentutilityposition,i.e.metertechnicianor
lineworker.

TheimplementationofSmartGridtechnologywillbeanexcitingtimefortheenergyindustryand
consumersofelectricity.Theabilitytomanageonesownconsumptionbasedonpricingandneedwill
helpthereliabilityofthenetworkbyeasingpeakdemandsandimprovingenergyefficiency.