Smart grid Catch-22: Utilities must have plans even as vital standards still being developed

摘要

State regulators are telling utilities to develop broad smart ngrid plans that encompass all kinds of elements about how nadvanced meters and other technologies will be used. At the nsame time, though, smart grid standards are still being hatched nby the federal government.nSome utilities think they are being put in a Catch-22 bind.nThat dynamic was addressed indirectly last week at the nannual meeting of the National Association of Regulatory Utility nCommissioners, where a number of speakers told state regula-ntors that they should not allow utilities to install advanced nmeters first and figure out later how best to use them.