Australia

The Australian government has committed to investing $100 m in smart grids. The federal government's call for proposals to study smart grid technology in 2009 was followed by an announcement of a winning team in June 2010. The study, intended to increase customer awareness and engagement in energy usage and establish distributed demand management and distributed generation management, will commence in Summer 2010. EnergyAustralia, announced as the lead utility in the federally sponsored consortium to study Smart Grid in Australia, will build the smart grid over five sites in New South Wales with partners IBM, Grid Net, a San Francisco-based energy software company, and GE Energy. The WiMAX-based smart grid will support such applications as Substation Automation and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PEV), ultimately supporting 50,000 Smart Meters and 15,000 in-home devices (IHDs) as well.

Within Australia the adoption of smart grids is hindered by a lack of service level obligations on electricity distribution businesses to connect distributed generation devices in a timely fashion.

Canada

The government of Ontario, Canada, through the Energy Conservation Responsibility Act
in 2006, has mandated the installation of Smart Meters in all Ontario businesses and households by 2010.

China

As part of its current 5-year plan, China is building a Wide Area Monitoring system (WAMS) and by 2012 plans to have PMU sensors at all generators of 300 megawatts and above, and all substations of 500 kilovolts and above. All generation and transmission is tightly controlled by the state, so standards and compliance processes are rapid. Requirements to use the same PMUs from the same Chinese manufacturer and stabilizers conforming to the same state specified are strictly adhered to. All communications are via broadband using a private network, so data flows to control centers without significant time delays.

On May 21, 2009, China has announced an aggressive framework for Smart Grid deployment. Comparing with US and Europe, the Chinese Smart Grid appears to be more transmission-centric.

European Union

Development of smart grid technologies is part of the European Technology Platform (ETP) initiative and is called the SmartGrids Technology platform

European Technology Platform for the Electricity Networks of the Future

The European Technology Platform for the Electricity Networks of the Future is a European Commission initiative that aims at boosting the competitive situation of the European Union in the field of electricity networks, especially smart power grids. The ETP represents all European stakeholders...

 http://www.smartgrids.eu/. The SmartGrids European Technology Platform for Electricity Networks of the Future began its work in 2005. Its aim is to formulate and promote a vision for the development of European electricity networks looking towards 2020 and beyond.

Republic of Korea

The Korean government has launched a $65 million pilot program on Jeju Island with major players in the industry. The program consists of a fully integrated Smart Grid System for 6000 households; wind farms and four distribution lines are included in the pilot program. This demonstrates the extent of Korea’s commitment towards an environmentally viable future.

Korea plans to slash overall energy consumption by 3% and cut down total electric energy consumption by 10% before 2030. The government also plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 41 million tons by this time. The government has announced that it will undertake a nation-wide Smart Grid implementation by 2030.

On January 2010, Korea has taken a significant step forward in its efforts to grab a foothold in the global smart grid sector, coming to a deal with the state of Illinois to jointly develop and test technologies for smart grid. The two parties have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Illinois Department of Commerce to set up a pilot program to create smart grid technology at a facility on Jeju Island. Under the plan, technologies that are developed through this partnership and are deemed viable for commercialization will be rolled out both in Illinois as well as in Korean cities. The two sides agreed to launch a business model for a smart grid on Jeju-do Island and apply it in Seoul and Chicago later on. The Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute and other related local centers will come together with Illinois' Argonne National Laboratory and Chicago University to test and develop technologies.

A joint cooperation committee will be established to draw up a detailed cooperation program for the next three years. The Korean government seeks to complete the installation of smart grid in the country by 2030 and establish another 27,000 or more power charge stations for electric cars. A total of 27.5 trillion won will be injected according to the roadmap. The government plans to handle it by developing core technology, new markets, new infrastructure and attracting voluntary investment from businesses.

United States

Support for smart grids became federal policy with passage of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007

Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 is an Act of Congress concerning the energy policy of the United States...

. The law, Title13, sets out $100 million in funding per fiscal year from 2008–2012, establishes a matching program to states, utilities and consumers to build smart grid capabilities, and creates a Grid Modernization Commission to assess the benefits of demand response

Demand response

In electricity grids, demand response is similar to dynamic demand mechanisms to manage customer consumption of electricity in response to supply conditions, for example, having electricity customers reduce their consumption at critical times or in response to market prices...

 and to recommend needed protocol standards. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology

National Institute of Standards and Technology

The National Institute of Standards and Technology , known between 1901 and 1988 as the National Bureau of Standards , is a measurement standards laboratory, otherwise known as a National Metrological Institute , which is a non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce...

 to coordinate the development of smart grid standards, which FERC would then promulgate through official rulemaking

Rulemaking

In administrative law, rulemaking refers to the process that executive and independent agencies use to create, or promulgate, regulations. In general, legislatures first set broad policy mandates by passing statutes, then agencies create more detailed regulations through rulemaking.By bringing...

s.

Smart grids received further support with the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, abbreviated ARRA and commonly referred to as the Stimulus or The Recovery Act, is an economic stimulus package enacted by the 111th United States Congress in February 2009 and signed into law on February 17, 2009, by President Barack Obama.To...

, which set aside $11 billion for the creation of a smart grid.