SMART GRID GETS RATED

Galvin Electricity Initiative Introduces Landmark Smart Grid Rating Program; Energy Experts Develop First-of-Its-Kind Perfect Power Seal of Approval™ Program to Drive Innovation, Transformation in Electricity Industry
April 20, 2011 (Galvin Electricity Initiative)

"The Galvin Electricity Initiative…introduced the Perfect Power Seal of Approval™ (PPSoA), a program to drive innovation in the electric power industry by embracing consumer needs. The program, modeled after the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED certification for buildings, will evaluate and recognize the nation’s top-performing smart microgrid projects in key performance categories.

[John Kelly, deputy director, Galvin Electricity Initiative] “The Perfect Power Seal of Approval program establishes much-needed metrics that can empower consumers, businesses, communities and regulators to demand better performance from the power system…The PPSoA program shines a bright light…shifting the focus from technology for technology’s sake to measurable system performance…[W]e aim to inspire continuous improvement in smart grid projects…”

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"Research has shown that nationwide, consumers and communities are looking for dramatic improvements in four areas — reliability, consumer empowerment, efficiency and environment, and cost. The PPSoA converts these consumer demands into simple and effective metrics that measure and benchmark performance…

"…[The PPSoA], which is based on Six Sigma quality methods, will help the industry identify necessary improvements as well as strategies for achieving more aggressive goals that meet or exceed consumer demands — financed, for example, by eliminating wasted energy. Projects that score well in one or more categories will be awarded a category-specific seal…recognizing exemplary performance…Projects that excel in all four categories will be awarded the full Perfect Power Seal of Approval."

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"The rating system was developed by the Initiative together with an advisory committee of experts in…power distribution, utility benchmarking, environmental advocacy, green buildings and product safety. The committee uncovered precedence for each of the new metrics but found that until now, they have not been combined to form a comprehensive picture of electricity system performance from a consumer perspective…

"…The Initiative is collaborating with consumer protection certification organization Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (UL), to train and certify PPSoA evaluators…In the pilot phase, the PPSoA program will test the beta version of the rating system by evaluating a select group of projects. Beyond the pilot phase, the program will expand to additional types of projects…"