Taking Local Action on the Climate - Part 3

Much of the focus on climate protection up to now has been on what government can do--or should do.  Of course, that is myopic since government is just a small piece of the big picture.  A couple of weeks ago, a worker rang my doorbell and told me he was going to install a "smart" gas meter.  Being a techie myself, I was fine with that.  Here it is:

 

"Smart" gas meters aren't all that interesting because the gas company gets all of the benefits of the new technology.  Then Friday, my doorbell rang again and a worker said "I'm going to install a 'smart electric meter' ".  Now we're talkin'.  Electricity is something I can manage more actively and possibly even generate myself with solar panels.

Smart electric meters are good for PG&E because they won't have to send a meter-reader to every house on the street every month.  In the short-term that may be bad for the 11.9% California unemployment rate, but over the longer-term efficiency is good for utilities and their customers (i.e. us).  So he popped in a new "smart meter" that looks like this:

 

If you look very closely near the top, you can see a company name of "Silver Spring Networks" that has its technology embedded in the meter.  The meter is made by a traditional electric meter company (Landis + Gyr, which you can see at the bottom).  Silver Spring is from Redwood City and has a couple of hundred employees at the moment.  They are PG&E's "smart meter" of choice because they are thinking bigger than just letting PG&E read the meters without walking up to your house.

Embedded in the meter is the wireless ability to talk to PG&E's substation and to "smart appliances" in your house.  You don't have any smart appliances now but that is OK since this is a "chicken and egg" situation.  No need to buy a smarter appliance if there is nothing for it to talk to.  This week I got the meter the appliances-of-the-future can talk to right here in Burlingame.  You probably did, too.  The door hanger they leave says "Your meter just got smarter" which explains why your digital clock is blinking.

It will take awhile, but eventually this gizmo will talk over WiFi or Zigbee to my clothes dryer, dishwasher or other hungry appliance.  Silver Spring is particularly excited by the idea that some of us will buy electric cars because if we do, PG&E would choke on the electical surges without Silver Spring's smart meters.

I'm mostly excited by the idea that this will let me be more green--meaning I can eventually decide whether to buy expensive peak hour electricity or wait and dry the clothes at 9:30 pm for half as much money.  Me and PG&E negotiating mano a mano over price and convenience without the city, state or feds getting in the way.  Sounds good.  Now I need to go reset my digital clock. 

Comments

[twitter.com/espertoinc]

What is our city doing to create new jobs as a team effort?

[joe]

Here's an interesting idea as written in the Wall Street Journal:

Since April 2008, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District has told 35,000 customers in their monthly bills how their energy use compares with neighbors', and with the district's most-efficient customers. Customers who received the additional information cut their energy use by 2%, compared with a similar group of users who didn't get comparison data.

Last month, the district expanded the test to cover 50,000 households. Ali Crawford, a district project manager, says officials want to see if the comparison approach reduces energy use more than direct appeals to consumers' wallets, such as offering rebates on the purchase of energy-efficient appliances.

The preliminary findings support research by Robert Cialdini, an emeritus professor of psychology and marketing at Arizona State University, showing that people are more likely to reduce energy use to keep up with peers than to save money. Mr. Cialdini approached the district with the idea on behalf of Positive Energy, a start-up where he is chief scientist.

[Joe]

Today's SF Examiner has an article about whether the new Smartmeters are accurate or not. It starts with:

The installation of new digital “smart” meters for measuring gas and electricity has resulted in customer confusion and frustration across the state, prompting a class-action lawsuit and calls for a moratorium on the PG&E devices.

SmartMeters are currently being installed throughout the Bay Area. Large portions of Peninsula cities are scheduled to have their standard meters replaced by the end of 2010, according to PG&E’s deployment schedule. The rollout is slated to start in San Francisco in September.

The technology allows for two-way communication between the utility company and a meter, meaning usage information is now sent digitally to PG&E without the assistance of a meter reader.

The devices also allow individual consumers to track their energy usage online. According to PG&E, allowing customers to see how much gas and electricity they are using, and when their use is highest, will encourage changes intended to reduce energy use.

There have been widespread complaints, however, that consumers have seen higher bills after the SmartMeters were installed and that the devices are not accurate. On Friday, the California Public Utilities Commission agreed that the hiring of an independent consultant to test the meters was warranted in light of the concerns.

The rest of the article is at http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/Smart-meters-come-under-fire-73831897.html

And here is the link to the PG&E page on the meters http://www.pge.com/myhome/customerservice/meter/smartmeter/index.shtml

[Joe]

PG&E Raising electricity rates by 2.9%

The average residential customer will pay an extra $2.66 per month--small businesses will see an increase of $10.73 on average. PG&E has also filed for a 6.4% increase in 2010---gotta plan ahead you know.

So when does peak rate (and bottom rate) pricing kick in? I'm ready to monitor my usage via my smart meter and cut my bill.

[Joe]

PG&E's Smart meter brochure that arrived in the mail last week describes the first thing that can be done with the new smart meters. A summer pricing plan can be put into effect for up to 15 "SmartDays" where PG&E wants to incent power reductions between 2 and 7pm. You can read about it in detail at https://www.pge-smartrate.com/smartrate-details/rates-details/