Next in the line of regions rolling out smart grid technology is Colombia. The 27th largest country in the world, which boasts a population of over 46 million, has been endorsed by the U.S. to design an intelligent supervision and advanced control (iSAAC) platform for the nation's electrical grid.

The U.S. Trade and Development agency (USTDA) awarded XM Compañía de Expertos en Mercados S.A. E.S.P. (XM Company of Experts in Markets or XM), a Colombian ISO, a grant of $463,944 to assist in the development. If carried out successfully, a smart grid system in Colombia will increase XM's ability to meet the nation's demand for electricity, monitor activity, as well as to provide real-time management.

Using advanced applications and methodologies, the iSAAC system will also allow transmission system information to be relayed faster and more reliably, and to automate and accelerate responses to system anomalies.

The grant was signed last Wednesday, March 20, in Bogotá by USTDA Director Leocadia I. Zak and on behalf of XM by its General Manager, Luis Camargo. Bearing witness to the event was U.S. Ambassador P. Michael McKinley, along with Juliana Martinez, advisor to the Colombia vice minister of Energy.

The grant agreement is new, but the U.S. has been working with Colombia on energy concerns since at least last October, when the USTDA arranged for a delegation of Colombian officials in regard to a smart grid reverse trade mission.

It would seem that the U.S is generally keen on investing in a 21st century clean energy economy around the globe. Just last year, the USTDA awarded Comisión Reguladora de Energía $405,000 to support the development of a regulatory framework for a smart grid implementation in Mexico.