Naperville Endorses Smart Grid

Media Release Friday, December 11, 2009

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Naperville City Council Endorses Smart Grid Initiative

NAPERVILLE, Ill.— At its December 7, 2009, workshop, the Naperville City Council endorsed Naperville’s Smart Grid Initiative and committed financial support for the city to match an approximate $11 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to install the smart grid. This action allows the city to move forward with negotiating and finalizing the award for final City Council approval in January 2010.

The City of Naperville is the only municipality in the State of Illinois selected for a Smart Grid grant by the U.S. Department of Energy and was selected from more than 500 applicants.

A press conference will be held at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, December 15 in Council Chambers of the Naperville Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle St., explaining the Smart Grid Initiative and offering a tour of the Electric Service Center and the Jefferson Avenue Electric Substation. This press conference will allow attendees to get an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the Smart Grid Initiative and how it will transform the city’s electric utility.

“The future of power has arrived in Naperville, and it is in the form of a smart electric grid,” said Naperville Mayor A. George Pradel. “This is an exciting opportunity for residents and businesses to directly monitor their energy usage and adjust their consumption accordingly. With our electric utility customers empowered to directly control how and when they use energy, we will lower demand on our grid, thus driving down Naperville’s cost of purchasing energy on the wholesale market. There is a potential net benefit for the city of $81 million over the next 15 years!”

The press conference is being held with the Galvin Electricity Initiative, which is conducting a case study to demonstrate how community-based smart grid projects like the Naperville Smart Grid Initiative maximize efficiency and reliability — and meet many of the Galvin Electricity Initiative’s criteria for Perfect Power. The Galvin Initiative will focus on the smart distribution system that Naperville has systematically built over the past 15 years, the electric utility foresight in developing an innovative plan and its commitment to continuous improvement and high reliability while reducing the cost of energy to residential and business customers.

“The Naperville Smart Grid Initiative serves as a model for upgrading and automating the electricity distribution system to meet consumer needs, achieve dramatic improvements in reliability and lower operations and maintenance costs,” said John Kelly, deputy director of the Galvin Electricity Initiative. “Naperville’s achievements over the past 15 years demonstrate what’s possible in electric power system transformation. They prove you can raise quality and dramatically improve reliability at lower costs.”

Naperville’s smart grid project will include:

• Complete automation of the city’s electric grid, which will provide automatic, computerized meter readings. This will enhance system efficiency and reliability, streamline customer billing and increase billing accuracy.
• The addition of more than 57,000 smart meters will allow residents and businesses to analyze and adjust their energy usage patterns, thus conserving energy and controlling consumption and costs.
• Based on the availability of real-time feedback, the Department of Public Utilities will increase utility reliability and support two-way communication flow between the customer and the utility.
• Through a better understanding of utility demand and usage, pricing can be lowered accordingly.
• The smart grid will also serve as the initial infrastructure to support electric car usage for the average household.

This project has a three-year implementation phase with work beginning in January 2010.

For more information on the City of Naperville, visit www.naperville.il.us. Sign up to receive the latest news about the City of Naperville’s projects and initiatives via e-mail at www.naperville.il.us/enews.aspx.

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About Naperville: Located 28 miles west of Chicago, Naperville, Ill., is home to approximately 145,000 people. This vibrant, thriving city consistently ranks as a top community in the nation in which to live, raise children and retire. The city is home to acclaimed public and parochial schools, the best public library system in the country, an array of healthcare options and an exceptionally low crime rate. Naperville has ready access to a variety of public transportation, housing and employment options. The city’s diversified employer base features high technology firms, retailers and factories, as well as small and home-based businesses. Residents also enjoy world-class parks, diverse worship options, the opportunity to serve on several city boards and commissions, a thriving downtown shopping and dining area, a renowned living history museum known as Naper Settlement and an active civic community. For more information, please visit our Web site at www.naperville.il.us.