Current Group, a Germantown-based technology firm, has taken over an ordinary looking house in Bethesda and turned it into a laboratory for smart-grid technology, the system the company believes will bring the nation’s electricity grids into the digital age.
In the front yard stands a utility pole hooked up to a special transformer that connects the power lines to high-speed Internet. Hundreds of sensors attached to the lines monitor how power flows through the home. That information is then sent back to the utility company.
The process lets a utility more efficiently manage the distribution of electricity by allowing two-way communication between consumers and energy suppliers via the broadband network on the power lines. Based on data they receive from hundreds of homes, utilities can monitor usage and adjust output and pricing in response to demand. Consumers can be rewarded with reduced rates by cutting back on consumption during peak periods. And computerized substations can talk to each other so overloaded circuits hand off electricity to those that have not fully loaded, helping to prevent blackouts.
Some utility companies have launched initiatives to give consumers data about their energy consumption habits in an effort to lower energy bills. Smart-grid technology takes such programs further by automating electricity distribution, which would make grids more reliable and efficient.
By partnering with utilities, the company hopes to tap into $4.5 billion in stimulus grants intended to encourage smart-grid development. When he announced the funding, President Obama pointed to a project in Boulder, Colo. , as an example of a successful smart-grid experiment. Current is one of the companies working on the project.
Current’s chief executive Tom Casey believes the technology will help utility companies better distribute electricity produced by renewable resources, such as solar panels or wind farms. " A smart grid’s system can be paired up with the renewable resources so that when the renewable source is varying, the overall load can be varied as well, " Casey told the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. " This will reduce or eliminate the need for backup coal or gas-based power generation plants. \
For smart-grid technology to work, which of the following is a must
A．The front yard of a house with a tall wooden pole.
B．A huge hook that can connect power lines together.
C．High-speed Internet access and Internet services.
D．Many monitors through which power flowing can be seen.
参考答案：C
解析： 细节题。由题干中的smart-grid technology定位到第一段，但第一段没有介绍实现智能电网的条件，因此相关信息需要从第二段查找。第二段提到Current集团进行智能电网实验的房子前院里竖着一根电线杆，连接到一台特殊变压器上，变压器又将电线和高速互联网连接在一起。电线上有几百个传感器，监控着房子里的电流使用情况。然后所有信息都被发送到公用事业公司。所以C项是必须条件，故为正确答案。原文提到进行实验的房子有前院，但前院和高耸的木杆与智能电网技术无关，故排除A；原文提到电线杆连接到一台特殊变压器上，并没有提到把所有电线连接起来，故排除B；整个过程需要传感器监控电流使用情况，并没有说需要很多显示器显示电流的流动情况，故排除D。