Transforming our electric grid into a smart grid is one of the trends that’s transforming our economy and career opportunities.

What is the smart grid? Our current electric grid is a patchwork of regional grids that transmit electricity from power plants (hydro, coal) to the end users (home, industries, companies).  With a smart grid the delivery of electricity is not just in one direction. Power generated through solar panels and wind turbines at the user’s location will also be added to the grid. In addition, there will be a bi-directional exchange of pricing and availability information that will allow all users to manage their energy usage more specifically. Appliances will be built to take advantage of new levels of information to run when power is least expensive.

The full transition to the smart grid is likely to take a couple of decades and spark industries we can’t even imagine right now.  For the next two years,  the trends defining this sector include:

• Integrating renewable energy into the grid – As you probably know, generating renewable energy is getting a lot of attention. Keep in mind that the renewable energy can be generated through utility-scale systems and in local systems (called distributed power) such as residential solar panels or small scale wind.
• Security – Protecting the security of the smart grid is critical. The physical power plants and distribution systems must be protected as well as the cyber/virtual systems that control and manage the systems.
• Energy storage – Because renewable energy sources are variable, it’s important to have storage systems to collect solar and wind power when available to be used at a later time. Innovation within storage technology is going to be a critical milestone in our transition to the smart grid.
• Home-based energy efficiency and home energy management systems – Giving home owners and building managers the opportunity to track their own energy use will provide new real-time energy consumption information. With this level of information better decisions can be made about energy efficiency and energy usage.
• Utility workforce changes – Workforce forecasts within the utility industry indicate that up to 50% of their workforce is due to retire within the next five years. In addition, the skills needed by utilities as the smart grid unfolds will also shift workforce needs.

If you have clients with an IT, software, telecommunications, security, and electric engineering background, encourage them to build their knowledge about the smart grid sector. This is the focus of the next economic shift for these fields. Jobs aren’t just available within utilities, there are opportunities in a variety of businesses in the industries listed above, governmental organizations, regulatory groups, advocacy groups, and service providers.