Posted on 04/20/2009 10:05:01 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Given the potential inconvenience and 'Big Brother' aspect of utilities controlling home appliances, it's time to convince energy users.
"The smart grid means many things to many people," said Mark Farber, co-founder of Evergreen Solar and now a consultant with Photon Consulting, at the Ceres Conference in San Francisco last week. Given that Uncle Sam plans to spend $4.5 billion developing and constructing one, it's time to start bridging some of the gaps between what it means to utilities, technology companies, and grid wonks—and what it means to plain old energy users. Making the smart grid's most basic elements—two-way communication between utilities and energy users, advanced control systems, and smart devices— appealing to consumers could be key to its success. So how can smart grid backers make the investment look more like a boon and less like a boondoggle to those on the other side of the meter?
For many utilities, adding information technology and two-way controls to electronic devices and appliances represents a potential gold mine of efficiency and a workaround for building expensive new power plants. As Farber put it: "A button is as close to a dispatchable power plant as you can imagine."
For consumers, however, the benefits of the smart grid have proven to be less obvious, despite promises that it will offer more insight and control over their energy use (and spending). "It turns out customers don't actually want utilities to turn off their appliances," said Farber, referring to the two-way control technology that would allowing a utility to cut power use when demand strains supply.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessweek.com ...
This two-way control of appliances is part of what Michael Hindus, a Pillsbury Law partner and energy regulation expert, has called "the essence of the smart grid," as it could help eliminate the need for more power plants by reducing peak demand. (Utilities currently need to have enough generating capacity to accommodate spikes in demand during hot summer days, for example. Lower spikes would let them get by with less overall capacity.) But if utility control of home appliances represents the most tangible effect of the smart grid buildout for consumers, then the "Big Brother" and inconvenience factors—even if they can override the utility—could outweigh consumer interest in saving energy, doing right by the environment, and maybe shrinking electricity bills.
I once worked for a company that had a deal with the power company to shut down production during peak periods in exchange for a better rate.
Summers in Georgia are hot. Management was in Belgium. The impact on the company was sometimes staggering.
Imagine if all that were mandatory.
Check this out. My wires company in Texas, Oncor, got the PUCT to approve charging me $2.21 a month for the next eleven years to get a “Smart Meter.”
OK, not a bad deal but realize they then get to lay off their meter readers. So I get to pay, so the wire company can make more money.
I love this country. /s
We just got a flyer in the last electric bill asking those with refrigerated air (A/C to normal folks, but here in NM, saying A/C could also mean swamp cooler) to install smart meters that could be controlled by PNM to reduce overall grid load. The idea is that nobody’s home during the day. Well, my family is. No sell. Sorry.
Yes, individual liberty is just some agrarian notion thought up by old white men from America’s misty past.
This is the modern age!
Well, duh.
Progress Energy has had this program for years. It was, and is, VOLUNTARY. Which is how it should be.
I was on it for awhile. They could cycle my pool pump, a/c whenever they deemed necessary. Plus I think they gave me a credit on my bill every month.
Then one year they had to take the Crystal River nuke plant offline for an extended period of time. For awhile they were turning off my a/c every 30mins for 15-30mins at a crack. After a few weeks of this I had had enough and called them to cancel it.
Notice how they name things. Smart grid. Smart growth. Employee Free Choice. Freedom of Choice Act. Social Security. Homeland Security.
The exact opposite of their true purpose.
There is a lot more going on than just turning on the lights. Remember, it is possible, today, to access the internet over convetional powerlines with the correct hardware.
The real battle behind the lines is this: http://computer.howstuffworks.com/bpl.htm
People had better wise up pretty soon and decide if they want the eco-nuts to STHU and let utilities build more nuclear and coal power plants to provide more electricity, or do they want the government to push this smart metering and force utilities to implement it so that customer usage can be controlled to alleviate peak usage. Time is quickly running out and new power plants aren’t built overnight.
That would be the understatement of the year. Of course, we don't want the utility controlling our appliances. Especially if that utility happens to be an entity owned and operated by government.
Imagine living in Florida - it's a nice warm 95 degree day in August, and the utility decides to curtail your air conditioning so that they will have enough power to get through the day without a major blackout. So your house, instead of being a comfortable 76 degrees is now 86 degrees. But you get to save $10 off your monthly electric bill for the priviledge of sweating all afternoon.
Hopefully, you don't want hot water in the afternoon either.
All this "smart grid" scheme does is preclude the utility from building another power plant (which is darn near impossible given the government's attitude towards such things these days). Instead, they want their customers to sacrifice to meet demand. Welcome to the third world.
That would be the understatement of the year. Of course, we don't want the utility controlling our appliances. Especially if that utility happens to be an entity owned and operated by government.
Imagine living in Florida - it's a nice warm 95 degree day in August, and the utility decides to curtail your air conditioning so that they will have enough power to get through the day without a major blackout. So your house, instead of being a comfortable 76 degrees is now 86 degrees. But you get to save $10 off your monthly electric bill for the priviledge of sweating all afternoon.
Hopefully, you don't want hot water in the afternoon either.
All this "smart grid" scheme does is preclude the utility from building another power plant (which is darn near impossible given the government's attitude towards such things these days). Instead, they want their customers to sacrifice to meet demand. Welcome to the third world.
Do not get me wrong, as a person who has been in the Electrical Industry in Operations since 1973, trimming load across peak, is the most economical choice.
If, a very big if, I can get an average price of what I consume according and when I consume it, I am all for it.
To have the AC going full blast when it is 100 outside and doing laundry is kinda stupid.
LOL.
A crucial insight, Mr. Farber.
Sadly, this is really about more government control.
The ironic part is that Baraq thinks it will be his government controllling, but after reading about the grid hackers, it may be the Chinese doing the control.
Let me clarify: you MIGHT get people to turn over control of their meters at the right price, but my understanding is that the utilities won’t be willing to pay the right price so long as they think that the government will go to bat for them.
Think California.
The market could achieve the right price, or the product would and should go away.
The government determining and enforcing the “right price”?
BOHICA.
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/bpl.htm
The gov’t could shut down any and all computers they chose at any time...
The one avenue of dissemination of honest news and information “We the People” have.
The ability for people to communicate freely is the greatest threat to tyranny. Hitler forbade radios, copy machines and any other means that people used for getting out the news...
the “O” hated the ability of “We the People” to spread the word. He had/has control of the MSM, but he couldn't control the net...
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