Premier Sean Chen today instructed the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) to form a cross-ministerial "smart grid" promotion taskforce.
Agencies to collaborate with the project include the National Science Council, Atomic Energy Council, Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD), Executive Yuan Board of Science and Technology, Executive Yuan Department of Economics, Energy and Agriculture, Taiwan Power Company and the MOEA's subordinate agencies. The MOEA minister will serve as the convener.
In light of global trends toward energy conservation and carbon reduction as well as the increasing use of recycled energy, nations all over the world have been upgrading their power networks to smart grids, in which computers and other high technologies are used to produce and distribute electricity more efficiently.
The ROC has made the smart grid a flagship program in its national energy conservation and carbon reduction plan. The premier directed the MOEA to form the taskforce after being briefed on the nation's draft plan for building smart grids.
Premier Chen pointed out that the smart grid is a modern network that integrates the power generation, transmission, allocation and client ends. Its advantages include allocating power and transferring power during peak hour overloads more efficiently and curbing the need for power companies to build more generating plants, thereby conserving energy and reducing carbon emissions. Moreover, it could dovetail with the nation's edge in information and communications technology to drive growth in domestic industries producing relevant components like smart meters.
Smart grid development is not only forward-looking but also a sign of an advanced nation, the premier said. He urged that the grid be developed progressively and pragmatically. However, since development can take as long as 20 years, he directed the MOEA to conduct rolling reviews during its implementation.
Chen also instructed the MOEA to come up with plans to reduce costs and speed up installation for consumers. He suggested that manufacturers could install smart meters in households free of charge in exchange for a reimbursement equivalent to the residents' consequent savings on their power bills. Once manufacturers' overheads are offset by reimbursement, ownership of smart meters could be transferred to Taiwan Power Company and then made available for smart grid operators to test ways to optimize their systems, he said.
Also at the premier's request, the MOEA and the CEPD are to study the technological and legal feasibility of power line carrier communication (PLC), a technology that utilizes existing power lines to carry data. The development of PLC technology is expected to enhance the convenience of Internet use since power lines have greater household penetration than telecommunications lines.