The smart grid is at the center of the US Federal Communications Commission’s national broadband plan.

 

Under the plan, the FCC calls mandatory access for consumers to information about their power consumption , the use of the 700MHz spectrum for a smart grid network and for the adoption of standards for delivering consumer data.

 

The plan, which aims to make access to a 100 Mbps broadband network available to 90% of the population, was sent to Congress this week.

 

The FCC said state governments should require electric utilities to provide consumers

access to real-time information from smart meters about their energy use and billing.

 

“If states fail to develop reasonable policies over the next 18 months, Congress should consider national legislation,” it said.

 

The FCC called for a joint study with the Department of Energy (DOE) on the communications requirements of utilities to help build a national smart grid policy.

 

It also said it would start a study of the energy efficiency of the communications industry

 

“Broadband and advanced communications infrastructure will play an important role in achieving national goals of energy independence and efficiency,” it said.

 

A smart grid could have prevented the 2003 blackout, which shut down power to more than 50 million people and caused as much as $10 billion in losses.

 

The Climate Group welcomed the proposal to provide access to real time energy information.

 

It said the FCC’s focus on communications meant both people and machines “will be able to ‘manage what they measure’,” ,while the smart grid “can be used by companies to provide a whole range of services to consumers and businesses that save energy, fuel and resources.”

 

“What’s good for consumers and business is good for the economy. Sensors and instrumentation that collect information from machines and the natural environment are leading to an explosion in data and information on environmental conditions and energy, and a race to create knowledge from it.”