Does the Electric Distribution System Have to Remain So…Ugly?

I recently had coffee with a new friend, Pete Baston. Pete, along with his wife, Lilli Segre, manages IDEAS, a remarkable little consulting company in Boulder, Colorado. Have some fun and go to www.ideapete.com. Graze there for a while, check out Pete and Lili’s backgrounds and you’ll understand why their email domain is “ideapete”. The man bubbles over with ideas on everything – particularly when it comes to quality assurance in just about any industry. He’s originally from England, moving to Rhodesia at the age of 4. Pete has traveled the world, sweeping up ideas and improving them.

Pete and Lili help clients, whatever they do, do it better.

Pete had sent me an article he wrote about solutions to ugly power plants (which we will soon publish on Smart Energy Portal). The article made me stop and think.

If you worked for a utility as long as I have you can’t help but be a little brainwashed into believing that the U.S. has the best power grid in the world in every way. But Pete’s discussion of ugly power plants reminded me of why, when I left U.C. Berkeley and had fresh and idealistic eyes, I never thought I’d work for an electric utility. I just couldn’t get excited about an industry that lined otherwise beautiful suburban California streets with stained, sometimes crooked wooden poles. Or how about those big gray (or oxidized green) substations, fenced about with see-through mesh? We won’t even get into discussing coal plants.

From looks alone, one would think that the utility industry hadn’t changed its basic practices and design in 50 years.

Of course, I did go to work in the industry and soon got a little jaded when it came to the appearance of poles, towers, lines, control buildings and the other hallmarks of utility esthetics. Just like the other engineers, I focused on function and left the visual impact to another department.

So, while we’re busy investing billions into making the system ‘smart’ can’t we throw a little money into making the structures, those that remain above ground, a little more appealing to the eye?

Can’t we have a grid that has both brains and at least a little beauty?

About the Author

Editor:

Paul Mauldin

Paul earned his B.S. and an M.S. in electrical engineering from the University of California-Berkeley and is a registered professional engineer. He has worked in the energy industry for more than 25 years, developing and implementing advanced energy technologies. As research director for Pacific Gas and Electric Co. he pioneered methodologies used in the design, maintenance and control of energy delivery systems. As a consultant he has provided guidance to utilities and the vendor community, nationally and internationally.