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Strengthening a record number (98) of the company's main power distribution lines. Replacing thousands of distribution utility poles with stronger ones - most of them concrete - designed to withstand hurricane-force wind gusts of 130 mph or more. Installing additional smart grid technology to better detect and address power outages, and adding improved lightning protection equipment. Upgrading FPL's power transmission system. Replacing wood poles with concrete structures and upgrading associated hardware. Installing new flood monitoring systems at select power substations that are most susceptible to possible flooding and storm surge.

Happily, we now have a new facility dedicated to that work. And dedicated to harmonizing U.S. standards with those from Europe. As you will read, this new center was conceived to bridge the needs of EV manufacturers and utilities. You'll want to get on their mailing list to hear about new standards as they emerge. And you may want to contract with the lab for design and testing

Located in Villa Rica, Ga., the centre will aim to develop smart grid components and products for renewable energy projects. However, the new multimillion-dollar facility’s primary focus is to expand Southwire’s substation cable technology and solutions.

The moderate peak power demand, favorable coal prices, and the resurgent Southeast Asian economy are likely to drive investments in this market. Furthermore, power generation additions, increase in electricity tariffs, and smart-grid rollouts are expected to draw investments in the T&D market.

Can we fix the infrastructure that powers our lives?

The global market for Insulated Wire and Cable is forecast to exceed US$113.9 billion by the year 2015. Factors influencing the market in a major way include resurgence of global construction industry and robust expansion of the energy sector. Further, the rise of smart grids in matured economies, and increased investments in high-speed rail networks are poised to drive market growth in the next few years.

The eco-show homes will feature smart meters, insulation to the highest standards, water efficiency measures, recycling or composting of waste and electric car charging points

Mr Sharrock says bonded internet connections are not yet available anywhere, but are "right on the edge" of becoming commercial. Customers would need a special broadband modem, capable of splitting and integrating transmissions over two lines. "The future is fibre," he says, but techniques to squeeze more out of copper lines would help the quarter of households that won't benefit from the Government's $1.5 billion ultrafast broadband initiative.

Sub-Saharan Africa's electricity metering market will see the fastest growth of any region in the world over the next decade.

The new applications are varied and the vertical markets benefiting from new devices range from condition monitoring in industrial environments, smart metering in energy market segments, to thermoelectric applications in vehicles, either terrestrial or other.

Something as large and venerable as a national power grid comprises millions of long-lived components spanning generations of evolving technology.  At every stage of its past and future life, newer and older technology work together in a state of perpetual recapitalization.  It is not a realistic proposition to bring the entire system “up to date” all at once any more than to tear up all the nation’s roads and repave them all at once.  As long as technology innovation keeps marching on, there is always going to be a mix of technologies incorporated into something of such a scale that it can only be recapitalized over decades. 

Just last week, a report by Swiss bank UBS showed how the linked development of energy storage, solar power and electric vehicles is changing the economics of power generation. UBS predicts that by 2020, a return on investment for an unsubsidized purchase of an electric vehicle, coupled with a rooftop solar installation and battery storage, will drop to just six years in much of Europe. Smart distribution networks would precisely manage the usage and allocation of electricity, allowing for an electric car to be charged at night, for the sun to power a house during daylight hours and for improved batteries to store power for other residential uses. While such news might not be met with cheers in the offices of national grid operators, it shows just how the quest for "The Holy Grail of Energy Storage" is doomed to fail.