Smart Grid
How Technology Turned Around a Co-op
When David Hallquist took over as chief executive officer of Vermont Electric Cooperative in 2005, outages were up and member satisfaction was down.
David Hallquist
Fast forward to December 2010 and one of the worst storms in Vermont history. Not only were there no complaints, but the co-op received more than 150 cards and letters thanking employees for their efforts to restore power.
The key difference—the intelligent use of technology, Hallquist said during the four-day GridWeek 2011 conference in Washington, D.C.
“Clearly, technology was one of the things that helped us significantly,” he said at a Sept. 14 panel on “Business Drivers and Impact,” which looked at ways to build a business case for smart grid technology. “If we can do it in northern Vermont, you can do it anywhere.”
Vermont Electric has been a national leader in smart grid technology. About 95 percent of its meters are two-way communications devices, and all of its substations will be linked with fiber communications by the end of 2012, Hallquist said. It recently received POWER magazine’s first Smart Grid award.
But Hallquist said the Johnson-based co-op, which has about 35,000 members, prefers the term “innovation” to smart grid. That encompasses a broader range of ways in which technology has helped the co-op improve reliability and member satisfaction.
“Responsible utility management is about using technology in its best applications,” he said.
On the operations side, the co-op had 14 meter readers and two technicians in 2005. With new technology, just five meter technicians and two substation technicians are needed, and field trips by trucks have been slashed.
On the member side, the 2009 rollout of the WattWATCHERS program has virtually eliminated complaints about high bills, he said. Participants can scan their hourly usage data and receive a text message or email if their electricity use hits a certain point.
In coming years, the biggest challenge to implementing new technologies on behalf of members lies in the ability of computer programs to interact with each other, Hallquist said.
“It’s about building systems that are responsive, and I can’t overemphasize how we need to get our software platforms integrated,” he added, praising NRECA’s MultiSpeak initiative, which is designed to do just that.
Related content: GridWeek Conference; Vermont Co-op Earns Smart Grid Honor
Tags: GridWeek Conference, MultiSpeak, Smart Grid