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How Italy Beat the World to a Smarter Grid

An aggressive rollout of intelligent electrical meters is saving Italy's Enel $750 million per year—and cutting customers' bills

By Mark Scott

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After several false starts, 2010 finally could be the year when smart meters go global. The technology, which lets energy companies and consumers more closely monitor their electricity consumption, has many champions. The U.S. government has earmarked $4.5 billion from the stimulus package to subsidize the rollout of smart meters nationwide. European Union politicians are pushing hard to connect 80% of the region's homes and businesses to smart meters by 2020. Even emerging giants like India and China aim to install the technology in new buildings.

But with billions of dollars on the line, policymakers don't want to make costly mistakes. Many of them are thus eyeing the remarkable experience of Italy, which in less than a decade has become the surprising world leader in the development of a smarter electrical grid. Some 85% of Italian homes are now outfitted with smart meters—the highest percentage in the world and more such devices than exist in the whole of the U.S. Utilities worldwide, such as San Francisco's PG&E (PCG) and Florida's FPL Group (FPL), are eager to learn how Enel pulled off its smart meter revolution.

Back in 2001, Enel (ENEI.MI)—the country's dominant utility—started a five-year program to install smart meters across its customer base of 40 million homes and businesses. "We wanted to improve efficiency, create higher margins, and help customers reduce their energy bills," says Livio Gallo, Enel's director of infrastructure and networks, who oversaw the smart meter rollout. Another motivation, according to outside experts, was to throttle rampant power theft and other forms of fraud.

Time-of-Day Pricing Info

By 2006, Enel had invested $3 billion in the initiative, which included meters of its own design, based on technology from San Jose (Calif.) based Echelon (ELON), that send usage readings automatically to the central office and display time-of-day pricing to customers. The Italian utility can now collect customer data and manage its energy network remotely, instead of sending out costly technicians. And improved data on consumers' electricity habits permit Enel to run its power plants more efficiently. All told, the utility says it is reaping annual cost savings of $750 million from the new technology—allowing it to recoup the infrastructure investment in just four years.

Meanwhile, the introduction of smart meters has given Enel customers greater control over their energy bills. Typically, the meter is installed in a convenient place in the home—say, in a kitchen cupboard or the laundry room. When electricity prices are high, for instance during the peak evening period or on cold winter nights, the smart meter informs household members of higher rates, allowing them to alter their habits (such as postponing a load of laundry until the next morning) to avoid big charges. Analysts figure that attentive Enel customers have been able to cut their bills by as much as one-half by keeping close tabs on energy prices and usage.

"Smart meters give customers more control over how much they want to spend," says Michael Pollitt, assistant director of the Electricity Policy Research Group at the University of Cambridge's Judge Business School.

from My Bella Vita by My Bella Vita

from ciao down by Em and GC

Via Vittorio Veneto, commonly known simply as Via Veneto, used to be the bustling center of Rome’s dolce vita in the 1960’s and 70’s, filled each night with famous personalities, both Italian and international from the world of cinema, politics and business. In subsequent decades Roman nightlife moved to other parts of the city leaving Via Veneto desolate at night.

Lately however, a concerted effort has been made by the city and commercial enterprises to turn this situation around

and in many ways it’s been successful, although Via Veneto has not quite returned to its glory days of the past.

Via Veneto has been repaved, new traffic patterns created and on-street parking eliminated. Restaurants and cafes have added elegant, street-side areas to their establishments. Four and five star hotels have been added and existing hotels have been refurbished. While you won’t run into Marcello Mastroianni, Federico Fellini, and Anita Ekberg, all this has brought a measure of nightlife back to the renowned area.

-- Contributed by Wendy Holloway (see bio), owner of the Flavor of Italy Country Inn, north Rome, and Flavor of Italy, LLC, a food & wine tour company.

from ItalianNotebook.com» ItalianNotebook.com by Wendy

 

copyright 2009, art of living,PrimaMedia,Inc, Maria Liberati

Special gifts are sometimes the simplest things… At The Basic Art of ItalianCooking  by Maria Liberati tm we are getting ready to release our Holiday Guide of 2009 with some fantastic gift ideas.

I do  enjoy material gifts, but  I am so enamored with gifts that can’t be wrapped up in a package.. There are so many special gifts that come to mind that I could never put a price on and everyone has those gifts that are not appreciated enough for those are the gifts that are the real treasures..the gifts that we are not thankful enough for..Think about it…

In one of my online chats with my significant other yesterday   evening…while he was in Rome, he emailed  me a photo of a colorful sunset in Rome he experienced that day and he told me how much he wished I was there to see it.. and I wished I was there so much to see it as well. But the photo really brightened up my evening..just imagining myself  being in Rome to see another beautiful sunset there..with this photo..if only for a minute I could take myself there.. this photo and thought was my favorite gift of  the day… I have included it here to share with you.

A purchased gift is a nice thought as well, but remember all the gifts you have all throughout the day.

As we are getting ready for the Holiday  Gift Guide we have gotten to work with many an exceptional olive oil in The Basic Art of Italian Cooking kitchen. Here is a recipe  that put the olive oil to good use:

 

ORZO e GAMBERETTI (orzo pasta and shrimp)
(from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking:Holidays &Special Occasions

 

½ lb orzo pasta

1/2 lb broccoli-cleaned, cut into florets and steamed

½ lb shrimp

1 pouch of saffron

2 scallions

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, cold pressed

Vegetable broth

1/2  cup dry white wine or sparkling white like Franciacorta

Fresh parsley

 

Place 2 tablespoons olive oil in sauté pan Chop scallions finely. Heat oil and place in scallions. Saute till they begin to turn golden. Add in ½ of teamed broccoli, uncooked orzo pasta to toast, stir with wooden spoonPour in white wine let liquid evaporate. Then add in 1 cup vegetable broth and stir with wooden spoon. Uisng the same technique as cooking risotto, add in ½ cup of vegetable broth when liquid evaporates and repeat until orzo is al ‘dente’ (following cooking time directions on orzo package). Five minutes before cooking time is up- add in remaining steamed broccoli, steamed, cleaned shrimp, packet of saffron. Stir until saffron is well blended in.

When finished cooking, remove from heat. Place 1 tsp butter on top, stir in. Sprinkle with finely chopped parsley. Stir. Let sit one minute before serving. For serving idea, serve in small glasses. Top with one whole shrimp and a broccoli floret for decoration

Serve with Franciacorta white wine.

 Get your copy of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking : Holidys & Special Occasions   just in time for the Holidays with over 140 recipes ,wine pairing tips, menus and more.

Hope to see you at my upcoming book events/ cooking demos/ tastings at:
December 9th-Girls Night Out- Chestnut Hill Business Association, Chestnut Hill, Pa

December 12th- Franklin Twp Library, Franklin Twp, NJ at 2 PM

To schedule a cooking class , wine pairing event or  a culinary tour  in the US or Italy with The Basic Art of Italian Cooking  by Maria Liberati tm  email us at events@marialiberati.com

For more appearances and upcoming events go to http://marialiberati.com

“L’appetito vien mangiando”

Maria

http://twitter.com/Marialiberati

from Maria Liberati.com by Maria Liberati