What is the power utilities number one priority? Profit? Supplying power? Providing reliable power? Serving its customers? Buying back power from PV arrays? If

What is the power utilities number one priority? Profit? Supplying power? Providing reliable power? Serving its customers? Buying back power from PV arrays? If you answered any of these, you're wrong. The number one priority (at least in the utility I contracted at) was safety. Safety was front and centre in almost all design decisions related to power system control, and was the dominant company culture. Even "low" voltage distribution of 230v is dangerous without the correct equipment and training. Let's put aside the issues with local transformers and substations - at the end of the day, AC power are relatively straightforward systems (though they are far from simple). The control of those systems is, actually, quite complex, and deals with multiple failure states. Adding PV supply into the mix is problematic. Though well studied, it appears that without better electical signalling (for example, overlaid at the local sub/transformer), Islanding will continue to be an issue. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islanding http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islanding