Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 4.2 Regional transmission organizations in North America. Source: FERC 2014
RTOs also play an important role in smart grid development. For example, 2009 ARRA
funds provided many RTOs with funds to develop synchrophasor projects. Synchrophasors
or phasor measurement units provide a fine level of data to monitor the bulk power
grid and allow for enhanced system monitoring and fault detection. While RTOs cover a
large portion of the United States, electricity system capacity and transmission planning
and system operation continues to be dominated by states and utilities, especially in the
southeast and west, with reliability enhanced by the nonprofit North American Electric
Reliability Corporation (NERC) balancing authorities.
4.3.3 Subnational Actors
State and provincial governments are also actively involved in smart grid investments;
their level of investment and engagement is varied. In places in the world with smaller
countries, the subnational level may be important but is unlikely to have the same level of
heterogeneity as in larger countries. In the United States and Canada, states and provinces
play a major role in shaping smart grid development through specific energy and
environmental legislation and regulation. Smart grid development also raises important
federalism issues and highlights tensions between, on the one hand, the U.S. federal
government's efforts to create uniform standards and coordinate across regions, and on the
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