Look at German Grid
Tim Echols is elected to the Georgia Public Service Commission and regulates electricity and natural gas in his state. He just returned from Germany where he participated in a grid modernization study trip representing Georgia and the United States.
In 2013, I made my first trip to Germany to see what "Energiewende" was all about. This German word means "Energy Transformation," and Germany had made considerable effort to persuade the world with its message to phase out nuclear power and develop renewable energies in the power sector.
I wondered then if Germany could scale-up its efforts and avoid black-outs as the nation shut off baseload power, no small feat for a country full of manufacturing plants. Recently I returned to check progress, German technologies, and bring back to my state of Georgia any lessons learned that might apply to our grid modernization process. Here is what I discovered.
First, I was surprised to see that Germany still has not deployed digital meters, or smart meters as they are often called here. Most U.S. states are upgrading to these meters, and in Georgia, almost all residents have them. These meters allow ratepayers enormous flexibility including the ability to pre-pay and use a time-of-use rate, which Germany still doesn't have either.
For low-income customers in our state, the smart meters allow an almost instant reconnect if their service is disrupted because of non-payment, and for those using pre-pay, there is no fee when this happens.