Though I live in Northern California I was raised in the Great Fly Over, a.k.a. the midwest. Visiting the family lake last month I decided to visit the local metropolis (birthplace of Robert A. Heinlein) and the only wine bar in a 100-mile radius.
I struck up a conversation with a young man not quite 30. He is on the city council, and the town has a municipal power plant. I’ve been impressed with the efficiency of some municipal utilities, such as Alameda Power, which will transfer $2.5 million to that city’s general fund this year.
But his city’s utility was a mess—it had contributed seven figures to a fledgling regional collective that hoped to bring a large generator online, but that was years off. Meanwhile, the city’s customers were paying twice the rate per kilowatt hour than the rest of the state.
I explained to him what was just over the horizon: the Smart Grid. I knew it well, because I had just finished writing the Web site for a major green technology solution provider. As a better way to “deliver” energy, it’s the difference between traveling a dirt road and an interstate highway. The executive briefing I wrote explains the company’s vision for an intelligent utility network in a straightforward, informative style.
I also spoke candidly with this young politician, who clearly cared about the future of his town, and advised him to have city staff seek grants—from both energy-related consortiums and governments—to make his city an early adopter of smart grid technology. With this kind of visionary approach, the town could regain its glory once again as The Electric City.
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