National Grid has been given the final go ahead for a $44 million smart grid project with 15,000 of its customers in the Massachusetts city of Worcester.

The pilot project, which is expected to get fully underway within the next year, is already installing the latest technology – including 5000 advanced meters – to improve the reliability and responsiveness of the grid.

Customers taking part in the trial will be given greater choice in how they use energy, receive information about their energy use from online applications, mobile phone and smart phone apps, and will benefit from technologies that can identify problems like power outages more quickly.

The supplier will also be offering new dynamic pricing options to help customers save money and energy by running appliances at different times of the day.

National Grid will also use the trial to test the integration of renewable energy resources with the network, as well as electric vehicle charging stations and electric storage sites across the city.

“We are delighted that the pilot has been approved,” said president of National Grid in Massachusetts, Marcy Reed. “We are excited to embark on the next big step of this journey where we will bring our collective vision to life and deliver its benefits to our customers and the city.”

For further information:
www.nationalgridus.com

Related stories:
EDF Energy smart meter trial garners 5000th customer (26-Jul)
Intel to turn London into smart technology test bed (28-May)
National Grid to pilot smart grid technology in US town (14-Feb)
Honeywell and SSE rollout Thames Valley smart grid project (25-Jan)

Article source: http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/i/5331/