Who is driving changes to the “smart” grid in and outside of California: federal and state energy agencies, utilities, or the electric customer? Developments largely are being shaped by purchasers of rooftop solar panels and electric vehicles, according to speakers at a March 16 cleantech conference in San Francisco. “It is the reality of what customers are doing,” said Girish Nadkarni, ABB Technology Ventures managing director. He noted that although utilities are installing smart meters and laying the groundwork for a more digitized electrical system, customers are influencing it with current and projected installations of alternative distributed power systems--stationary and mobile. “It is the wild west of smart grid,” he said. Another dilemma is the impact of the growth in distributed generation installations and expected increase is electric vehicles. That increases the complexity of the system by increasing the flow of energy into and out of the power lines and associated uncertainties about charging patterns, including shifts in peak demand to later in the day. For example, two electric vehicles plugging into one charger in the early evening would likely overload powerlines and blow up a transformer. Mike Florio, California Public Utilities Commissioner, also warned of disparate impacts to the distribution system from end user changes. He noted, for instance, projected unevenness in electric vehicle ownership. Santa Monica is expected to be a hotbed of alternative vehicles--potentially overloading the distribution system--while few electric cars are expected in East LA, he told Current. Thus, distribution upgrades are essential to accommodate changes on the horizon, Florio said. Nadkarni pointed out other thorny smart grid development issues. Those include intertwining the conservative, slow-moving standards-driven utility business with the far less risk-averse, fast-paced technology companies developing smart grid applications. Getting the two industries on the same page is an ongoing challenge. One consultant said he often plays “marriage counselor.”