Cisco's move is a sign that the creaky electricity distribution system is poised for a digital upgrade. Other high-tech companies, including IBM, Intel, and several start-ups, are ramping up smart-grid efforts to capitalize on expected investments from utilities and federal governments. Cisco estimates that the communications portion of that build-out is worth $20 billion a year over the next five years.
Yeah!!! Electricity is going to become digital!!! :)))
I think comparing Smart grid to the Internet is deeply misleading. The fundamental difference lies in functionality and expenses/losses involved in running each of the networks. The purpose of the Internet is to move content between people or computers across the world. You should get the same message from Beijing whether you are in San Paolo or San Francisco. Contrary to that, moving electricity from one place to another leads to up to 30% loss of energy. Ideally, we should not move electricity at all. Rather, we should produce and consume it locally as much as possible. Figuring out the best delivery route is useful, but shuffling energy between arbitrary points would be a huge waste. I do hope that the government is not going to underwrite this mass production of waste with taxpayers' money.
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