The electrical grid, which provides for our daily needs, is immense and has existed over the past few decades. The electrical grid completes the long term electricity transmission through high-voltage wires from thermal, hydroelectric, nuclear and other types of power plants to regional transformer stations, where the high-voltage electricity is transformed into low-voltage electricity and transmitted to households and factories for their uses.
With the aim of resolving the issues during the electricity transmission from power plants to users, increasing electrical transmission efficiency, minimizing electricity loss during long term transmission and optimizing electrical load balance among every region, a number of companies have proposed “smart grid,” a form of electricity network which adopts new information technology and communication structure.
Furthermore, the smart ammeter is considered a great enhancement in terms of communication, because it is equipped with internet accessibility, which allows power companies to monitor the condition of power supply and households to remote-control their electrical appliances.
What it means for consumers is that the use of smart grid will enable users to see a graphical illustration of power consumption by hours instead of a monthly summary. Electricity providers will set charge rates based on hours of usage. In other words, as a consumer, you may be charged more for energy consumption during peak times and pay less for energy consumption during off-peak times. People who wish to save on electricity bills will choose to use high energy consuming home appliances during off-peak times.
With better consumer behavior data analysis, electricity providers will be able to more efficiently allocate and distribute power. By using smart grid system, the line between peak and off-peak times will be less obvious, reducing the cost of generating electricity. As a result, the consumers that pay the bill will benefit from reduced electricity price.
