Accelerating Smart Grid Investments

Accelerating Smart Grid Investments, a new World Economic Forum report developed with Accenture and industry experts, determines how smart grids can be the backbone infrastructure for tomorrow’s energy solutions and green economy.

The report sets out how smart grid technology brings together the advancements in the information technology and telecommunications sectors – sensing, computing and communications – to deliver a more resilient, more efficient and lower-carbon electricity system. Smart grids can enable:

• New energy management services and tariff structures, enhancing the way utility companies manage their assets and offer consumer-relevant products and services
• Empowerment of consumers to take greater control of their energy consumption
• Integration of more renewable energy into the electricity system
• Electric vehicle infrastructure on a large scale
• Building energy efficiency into the system, from generation to end use

Download the report | Press release

	"We're at a point in time where energy efficiency is key, consumers are asking for more information about their energy use and ways to reduce it, and renewable energy needs to be integrated into today's systems. Smart grids is the integration of new technologies with the electric system to make it more intelligent, more efficient, and offer better services to companies and consumers."
Espen Mehlum, Head of Electricity Industry at the World Economic Forum Watch this interview on YouTube July 2009 - 3 min 51 sec