The smart grid is really being laid on top of its existing technology. At the end of the day, the distribution system is transmitting electricity—electrons over copper wire—into your home, and they are going to be the same systems transmitting that electricity. The physics of transmitting electricity have not changed.
What is being changed is that on top of it there is the ability to add sensors. So instead of waiting for customers to call in to say they're out of power, we'll know in advance; we'll know at the control centre, and we'll be able to do something about it at the control centre without needing to send out a crew to find the outage. We'll be able to remotely control those switches.
If there are provinces that are pursuing a policy of integrating renewable energy onto their distribution systems, they'll be able to add in all that new flexible voltage regulation technology that can accommodate those renewables without causing the power to be of bad quality for everybody else along that feeder.