Smart Grid is not only a trendy term; it is a reality, which attracted the best of the best in the industry. Here is a quick list of the entities that are active participants in Smart Grid projects:

• DOE created an Electricity Advisory Committee in 2008. This committee is a group of industry experts that advises the department on strategies for modernizing the nation’s electricity delivery infrastructure and implementing the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007.
• The GridWise Alliance establishes work groups drawn from its members to address the challenges of successfully realizing a smart grid. Current work groups are focused on federal, regional, and state legislation and policy; implementation; and interoperability.
• The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) is working on a wide variety of research, development, and demonstration projects aimed at developing new electric power delivery technologies that support a smart grid. EPRI’s IntelliGridSM initiative is creating the technical foundation for a smart power grid that links electricity with communications and computer control to achieve tremendous gains in reliability, capacity, and customer services.
• The Gridwise Architecture Council is made up of industry experts who are focused on the interoperability of grid devices and systems. The council is defining a framework that will enable interoperability to transform electric power operations into a system that integrates markets and technologies.
• The Galvin Electricity Initiative, launched in 2005 in response to the massive East Coast blackout of August 2003, is headed by former Motorola chief Robert W. Galvin. Its aim is to create a power delivery system that is environmentally sound, fuel efficient, resilient, and robust; that can withstand natural and weather-related disasters; and that can mitigate the potential damage caused by terrorist attack. Coined “the perfect power system,” it will make affordable electricity available to all consumers and allow consumers to control their own energy use to the extent they choose.
• The Smart Grid Policy Center, established in 2007, will become the center of competency on policies and technologies that support the implementation and deployment of a smart grid.
• The Electric Drive Transportation Association released in January 2009 its Electric Drive Road Map for Energy Security, which details the need for advancing technological developments in electric drive and energy storage options. The EDTA is advocating for a smart charging infrastructure, which is an integral part to transportation and a smart grid, to enable the expansion of the electric vehicle market.
• The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) have joined together in a collaborative dialogue on facilitating the transition to a smart electric grid. This FERC/NARUC collaborative provides an opportunity for federal and state colleagues to work together on important new policies to support the vision of a smart grid.
• The North American Electric Reliability Corporation worked directly with the utility industry to create the Critical Infrastructure Protection standards. NERC continues to maintain, update, and enforce these standards. A current focus is on issues surrounding. cybersecurity.
• DOE and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are cosponsoring the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency, Vision for 2025, whose goal is to achieve “all cost effective energy efficiency by 2025.” Gains in efficiencies—termed our “efficiency resource”—could meet 50% or more of the growth in demand anticipated between now and 2025.
• The American Public Power Association (APPA) convened a Public Power Smart Grid Task Force. The task force includes representatives from public-owned utilities, nonprofits, and private entities to develop recommendations enabling public owned utilities to prioritize smart grid investments.
• Edison Electric Institute’s membership of shareholder-owned utilities has made implementation of a smart grid an EEI corporate goal. EEI seeks a rational evolution that focuses on the deployment of smart grid technologies as the value of those technologies can be shown.
• The Center for American Progress is advocating from grass roots all the way up to the president for a national clean-energy smart grid. In April 2009, CAP produced the report, “Wired for Progress 2.0”, a call for action on addressing key hurdles of a smart grid.

via GridWise Alliance