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Society has entered into a new era of economics and social experience driven by digitally based technologies. Our world is more interconnected than at any time in history, utterly dependent on the integrity of complex networks, including the Internet, telecommunications, and electric power systems. In many ways, the electricity network is the foundation of this interconnection. However, the electricity system – generation, transmission, distribution, and end use – is in serious need of upgrading towards an appropriate twenty-first century architecture if the benefits of interconnection are to be fully realized at both commercial and individual consumer levels. Lack of critical infrastructure investment and surging demand for high quality, digital grade electricity has taxed the electrical infrastructure beyond its limit. Put simply, the current system cannot meet demand. EPRI research shows that U.S. electricity demand has exceeded transmission capacity by more than 15% for the last ten years. Most credible forecasts predict that this inequity will continue. Additionally, microprocessor-based technologies have radically altered the nature of the electrical load, resulting in electricity demand that is incompatible with a power system created to meet the needs of an analog economy. This has led to unprecedented electricity reliability problems, as well as low service quality responsible for hundreds of billions of dollars in losses to industry and society annually. EPRI undertook the IntelliGrid Project provide the strategic framework for this serious commitment to upgrading the electric system. The IntelliGrid Architecture Project developed an open, standards-based systems architecture for the data communications and distributed computing infrastructure that will enable the integration of a wide variety of intelligent electric power system components. This infrastructure builds upon prior industry infrastructure work, leverages the newest communications and distributed computing technologies available and provides the interoperability/interworkability foundation for system development. This infrastructure will enable innovative services such as real-time pricing and energy management. The goal for IntelliGrid Architecture is to provide an overall integrated energy and communications system architecture for the data communications networks and intelligent equipment necessary to support a self-healing grid and the integrated consumer communications interface. For Additional Information
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