▲ Photo by Global Jeju Times team

[This article is written by a JDC Junior Journalist. The JDC Junior Journalist program is an educational project sponsored by Jeju Free International City Development Corporation (JDC). JDC Junior Journalist articles are only briefly edited by mentors before publishing.]

Nowadays, there are so many ‘Smart’ things around us. For example, just 6 years ago, there was nothing called a ‘smartphone.’ It’s hard to imagine that there would be such quick developments. However, many smart things have hit the market and made daily life more convenient. One of the latest smart technologies, the smart grid now being tested in Jeju, became a big issue in Korea.

According to smart grid.gov, ‘the grid’ refers to the electric grid: a network of transmission lines, substations, transformers and more that deliver electricity from the power plants to homes or businesses. The digital technology that allows for two-way communication between the utility and its customers, and the sensing along the transmission lines is what makes the grid smart. Like the Internet, the Smart Grid will consist of controls, computers, automation, and new technologies and equipment working together. The Smart grid project began in 2005 in Gujwa Eup, Jeju. KEPCO (Korea Electric Power Corporation) promoted the project with the Korean Government with the aim to advance smart grid research.

The goal of the smart grid project is ‘Energy Reduction’. Producing just the amount of electricity that people need, storing the electric that has been left, then using the stored electricity to save resources is the main driver behind smart grid technology. After the smart grid initially went online, some things were in need of changing.

A tour guide from the Smart Grid Renewable Energy Public Relations Center said, “A lot of things changed after the smart grid came out to our world. The biggest change was the amounts of energy saved. As you know, Korea had an huge problem with electricity shortage. So, there were many difficulties such as using internet, cooking and washing. The shortage occurred because we wasted too much energy. Some people don’t pull out the plugs out of the wall or even leave lights on every night. Especially in summer, many people use air conditioner and fans. So, an enormous wasted energy came out from our country every each year.”

The guide continued, “To prevent wasting the energy, Smart Grid was created. The Smart Grid offers many opportunities for consumers to save energy and for utilities to operate the grid in a more efficient, effective, and reliable way. The Smart Grid has resulted in greater energy savings with less inconvenience to businesses and home owners.”

The smart grid offers both advantages and disadvantages. As the guide said, consumers could save a lot of energy and money. Also CO2 will be reduced due to the conservation of energy. However, nothing has only advantages. The smart grid is based on IT (information technology,) so there has to be a strict protection from hackers. Smart grid has to share information on real-time so it will be very messy with a lot of data. There will be some hackers who point to those situation. There has to be a strong cyber protection to prevent hackers from hacking the grid.

Surely, the world is changing rapidly. As the world changes, many problems have been created. There are problems with global warming and natural disasters that are a great burden to mankind. Having a new develop for our world, like the Smart grid, could prove to be a much needed step in the right direction.