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TOTAL SOLUTION PROVIDER SERVICES
Smart Grid
SEGA provides end-to-end turn-key project execution and solutions to all smart grid implementation challenges. SEGA provides advanced engineering designs and development for mathematical mapping, reverse power flow systems, distributed and renewable generation integration, strategic load pockets, and other cutting-edge engineering designs for the advanced power sector. Furthermore, SEGA works with utilities to provide effective regulatory time of use rate-making.
SEGA also provides advanced educational curriculum and workforce training. Additionally, SEGA provides analysis of AMI data collected by utilities and underwrites software for mathematical mapping for enhanced demand side management.
System Integration and Diagnostic Center
SEGA has first-hand experience with control centers with a focus on reliability for the utility customer. SEGA stresses the technical side of smart grid applications by focusing on scientific and technical energy challenges facing the power industry.
Cyber Security
SEGA provides cutting-edge strategies to safeguard utilities and their customers from cyber-attacks in the smart grid area. Utilities need to invest heavily in this area to mitigate exposure of risk to its electrical grid. SEGA will work hand-in-hand with the utility and its partners so as to ensure that networks and industrial control systems are not jeopardized by outside sources.
Clean Energy & Efficiency
SEGA provides cost-effective energy efficiency solutions for utility owned generation, transmission, and distribution, as well as facilities management. In addition, SEGA also provides strategic demand side management tools to enhance customer participation under rate regulation tests approved by the state’s Public Service Commission. SEGA is uniquely qualified to incorporate state mandated demand side management controls into a comprehensive smart grid initiative to best leverage utility costs.
Research
SEGA research stresses the technical side of smart grid applications by focusing on scientific and technical energy problems facing the advanced power sector. SEGA’s leadership includes research, both basic and applied, in the natural sciences, engineering, clean energy control centers, and extensive analysis of utilities data stemming from automated metering infrastructure. Areas of research fall within the traditional categories of energy supply, energy use, and environmental mitigation. A fourth category, reliability studies, includes research projects that, while unlikely to have an impact in the nearer term, have the potential to make major contributions to future energy systems. These categories are further subdivided into focal points that include specific disciplinary subfields, energy supply technologies, end use, and environmental challenges.
Consumers, Dynamic Pricing & Regulatory Rates
A Smart Grid communications network allows utilities to move from a monthly billing cycle to dynamic pricing and Time-of-Use billing models. With the ability to automatically read meters at scheduled intervals, utilities can provide time- and demand-based pricing including:
- Time-of-Use (TOU) pricing – pricing tiers (i.e. off-peak, peak) are established to correspond to specific time intervals. Utilities can publish these rates to consumers to provide financial incentives to shift demand to off-peak hours and reduce overall consumption.
- Critical Peak Pricing (CPP) – a method of communicating pricing changes to consumers at spikes in peak demand to provide immediate financial incentives to shift energy demand.
- Real-Time Pricing (RTP) – the ability to not only change energy prices based on fluctuations in the cost of generation but also signal consumers (and consumer devices) to integrate demand-side applications to participate in load-shifting decisions.
A number of price signals can be created by the utility such as, direct load control programs, intermittent load programs, curtailment programs, emergency demand response events, and other dynamic pricing programs. Additionally, curtailment programs enable explicit control of device state (e.g. thermostat set point) or device control algorithms (e.g. load control duty cycle). Dynamic pricing structures including TOU and CPP – and for each TOU tier and CPP tier can specify default device state for thermostats (e.g. thermostat set point) and load controllers (e.g. on/off). Dynamic pricing device state defaults are always override-able by the end consumer.