People worldwide are consuming more energy every year. Electricity use in 2009 was about 13 times greater than electricity use in 1950, according to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Everything from new gadgets to electric vehicles and urban infrastructure developments adds to the increasing, annual energy-consumption rate. Energy consumption is outpacing generation.A few ways exist to help alleviate this problem. One way is to add electrical generation more quickly. For years, emphasis has been placed on alternative energy resources, but the sun's not always shining and the wind's not always blowing. Electricity is a real-time commodity. For utilities, the necessary capacity of electric power is important because there must always be enough electricity to continuously meet peak demand. The alternative is to make the electric grid more efficient by optimizing or eliminating transportation and distribution inefficiencies. Enter smart grid, routing electric power from where it's generated to where and when it needs to be consumed in the most efficient way.
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