SmartMeters.com 2/14/2010
Is the Smart Grid Too Expensive?
Elsewhere in the United States utilities are facing “stiff pushback” according to Charles Acquard, executive director of the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates. “We feel we are moving too fast,” said Acquard. “Smart grid is the brand new, shiny toy of the utility industry.”
Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) has already installed 4.6 million smart meters in California – at a cost of $2.2 billion. The meters automatically report usage information back to PG&E every hour and can signals to smart appliances in consumers’ homes. Paul Moreno, a spokesman for the utility, says that smart meters are essential for management of peak load and the integration of renewable energy.
“The cornerstone of smart grid is this house where your meter talks to your appliances,” said Mindy Spatt, spokeswoman for The Utility Reform Network (TURN) in California. “My toaster is never going to talk to anyone.”
Spatt believes energy efficiency and management can be accomplished without expensive smart meters. “People can see the costs, not the benefits,” she said.
Who's Going to Pay for the Smart Grid?
by John Cooper on Sunday February 14, 2010
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