Smart Grid Q&A: Unveiling The New Grid

Smart grid is the counterpart of the "cloud" in the utility world — everyone is talking about it. You can define smart grid in many ways, but simply put, it is the digitization of the power infrastructure and encompasses everything from bulk generation to transmission, distribution, customers, operations, markets, and service providers. It's an intelligent energy supply chain that spans utilities and consumers. In the United States, federal stimulus drives much of the momentum in the smart grid ecosystem. Around the globe, finding renewable energy sources and improving transmission, distribution, and customer enablement are just a few of the other drivers of smart grid. With all its promise and opportunities, smart grid implementation will also bring challenges for utility and nonutility organizations. The successful rollout of the new grid requires coordination of many constituencies to solve key issues around IT infrastructure and operations and particularly in security. For security and risk professionals in every industry, it's important to understand the smart grid ecosystem and its security vulnerabilities before it is deployed.