Phl urged to adapt smart energy technology to lower power cost

SANTA CLARA, California – Technology experts have urged the Philippines to adapt to the use of smart energy technologies to attain its goal of lowering electricity prices.

Wi-Fi Alliance technical director Greg Ennis, in an interview with The STAR on the sidelines of the Connectivity Week conference here, said there are available technologies in the market today such as Wi-Fi which is related to the development of the smart grid that would help power users in managing demand.

“It makes more sense to put Wi-Fi capability in smart energy technologies in homes such as in smart meters/appliances. This way, consumers can control the use of electricity wherever they are,” he said.

Wi-Fi is a popular technology that allows an electronic device to exchange data wirelessly (using radio waves) over a computer network, including high-speed Internet connections. The Wi-Fi Alliance defines Wi-Fi as any “wireless local area network (WLAN) products that are based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ (IEEE) 802.11 standards”.

“Wi-Fi is well suited for the use of basic smart tools and appliances and it also unlocks a much bigger opportunity for smart energy. Through Internet, Wi-Fi brings more to the smart grid initiatives” Ennis said.

He said the utilization of Wi-Fi in relation to the use of smart energy is currently being intensified worldwide.

Wi-Fi Alliance, for instance, had conducted a series of public demonstrations on a system called Smart Energy Profile 2 (SEP2) which is being universally adopted for in-premise smart energy applications.

“In SEP 2, the energy service interface (ESI) is the component that interfaces between outside world and the home’s smart energy devices. It could be implemented within a Wi-Fi access point or within a dedicated device. ESI essentially replays pricing signals, demand response events and other communications to the residential smart energy client devices. ESI could be connected to utility via meter or via Internet,” he explained.

Aside from demand side management, Ennis said using smart grid/energy would also help promote the utilization of renewable energy (RE) particularly wind and solar power.

“We really need to have a metering infrastructure that can deal with generators of electricity which are scattered all over the grid. It could help facilitate the sale of excess power in a grid-tied system. Smart meters are critical to that (RE development),” he said.

Ultimately, Ennis said, the use of such technology will also benefit citizens as energy prices keep rising. “If you will be able to manage your energy usage, eventually, you will realize savings,” he added.

Asked if the Wi-Fi Alliance would encourage the Philippines’ largest power distributor, Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), to incorporate the use of Wi-Fi technology in the company’s prepaid metering scheme, Ennis said: “Wi-Fi is already available in the market.”