Introduced below is Business Korea’s interview with KSGA (Korea Smart Grid Association) executive vice chairman Moon Ho, concerning the association’s recent activities and trends in the smart grid industry.
S ince its inception on May 21, 2009, the KSGA has connected government agencies with their private-sector counterparts in order to help develop Korea’s smart grid industry and has striven to increase awareness of it. The executive vice chair gave particular emphasis on the standardization of smart grid technologies, stressing that a nation or a corporation cannot dominate the blooming market ahead of the others, if there are no norms and guidelines in the industry. In this context, the KSGA inaugurated a standardization forum last year.
Q: Since the large-scale blackout of September 15, smart grid has been in the limelight. What changes do you see in the future when smart grid networks and technologies are put to commercial use?
A: The commercialization of the technologies and the establishment of nationwide networks will make a lot of impossibilities possible, such as entire new methods of power supply and efficiency improvement.
Organized systematization will lead to more stable and reliable power systems, requiring no facility expansion to boot. The DMS (Distribution Management System) technology is one of those most suitable for this era, optimizing energy efficiency during the entire process of power supply. It is capable of the integrated management of distributed energy resources, real-time analysis of power distribution systems, active system reorganization, and system protection coordination, etc. It means power transmission systems can be further stabilized with AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure)
and data response, resulting in efficient power consumption and active distribution. This is how smart grid technologies increase user convenience, while forestalling large-scale power cuts. In short, they are heralding the advent of an Energy Internet Age.
Q: The enforcement ordinances of the Smart Grid Promotion Act are to be made public in late November. What is your association doing in step with this?
A: The purpose of the Act is to further systemize and stabilize the base of the industry, while promoting it and helping its adjoining sectors grow. According to the Act, related authorities are supposed to draw up detailed action plans pertinent to the law and the KSGA is also participating in the preparation. At the same time, it is collecting opinions from its advisory committee and member companies so that these can be reflected in plans and mutually beneficial outcomes can be available for themselves and the government.
The enforcement regulations stipulate that the KSGA take charge of the registration of smart grid businesses. We are currently finalizing related procedures and guidelines in coordination with the government in order to allow the business registration processes to continue without a hitch. In addition, we are arranging some prior explanation sessions for corporations hoping to enter the smart grid sector.
Q: Companies affiliated with the KSGA are also carrying forward relevant businesses. Please introduce how your association is backing these.
A: Above all, we are running the advisory committee mentioned earlier, which is staffed by smart grid experts from industry, academia and research institutes, in order to discuss better policy alternatives and find more ways to promote the industry. As coordinator of working-level subcommittees covering AMI, charging infrastructure and many other areas, it will do its utmost to fulfill its job as a mediator in the industry.
We also founded the abovementioned forum in June of 2010 in recognition of the significance of standardized smart grid technologies. It currently consists of six permanent working groups and nine domain committees, on which approximately 250 professional experts are developing smart grid technological criteria with backing from the Agency for Technology Standards. These standardization efforts are key to securing network interoperability and commercial feasibility and will be the very cornerstone on which the country builds competitive nationwide networks in the future.
On the prediction that more highly-educated engineers will be needed as the smart grid market expands, we are also offering related curricula and programs. Last but not least, the KSGA is introducing the latest technology trends along with global industrial data and information so that its member companies can make inroads into overseas markets more easily.