Doug Kim, Director of Advanced Technology, SCE

ROSEMEAD, CA, U.S.A. --- (METERING.COM) --- February 22, 2013 - Southern California Edison (SCE) is to launch a real world demonstration of smart grid solutions at the University of California, Irvine with GE on June 30.

Funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the demonstration project will include electric distribution infrastructure, substations, residential homes, cybersecurity networks, battery energy storage systems and EV charging stations, and other competitor supplied products that positively affect the reliability of a modernized grid.

“We’re moving the smart grid discussion from engineering and concepts on the drawing boards to our customers,” said Doug Kim, director of Advanced Technology at SCE. “With increased insight, more options and greater control over their energy usage, consumers in this demonstration project will help us engineer a better energy future.”

The project will validate the interoperability of new technologies to improve the efficiency, reliability and sustainability of grid assets. It will help show how utilities, solution providers, regulators and consumers can work together on vital energy initiatives.

The technologies will focus on four main areas

• Energy smart customer devices such as smart appliances, home-scale energy storage and photovoltaic solar systems that can achieve zero net energy homes and optimize EV charging
• Year 2020 distribution system including distribution automation with looped circuit topology, advanced voltage/VAR control, advanced distribution equipment, smart metering, utility-scale storage and renewable distributed generation
• Interoperability and cybersecurity demonstration of end-to-end management of a complex high performance telecommunication system linking field data to SCE’s back office, field networks and energy smart home devices, such as appliances and lighting
• Workforce of the future including developing training programs to support the implementation of new technology in the field.