It is hard to believe any of the hype surrounding consumer conservation as a result of smart meters. Which consumers are going to run to check their meter to see what the current cost of electricity is before they throw on the dishwasher or clothes dryer? We don't need smart meters. We need smart appliances that can be setup and then left to automatically turn themselves on during low cost periods.

It makes sense for utilities to have the capability to adjust demand from appliances like air conditioners, if there is reasonable remuneration for the consumer who agrees to turn over control, but when are we going to see that implemented?

What makes the most sense is for the electric utilities to build sufficient capacity, from non-polluting supplies, for the society to run effectively. We know low cost electricity is available. AECL has been building 600 Mw nuclear stations on time, under budget, in four years, around the world for the last decade. The solution is there, just not the political will. Save natural gas for direct heating, where its energy efficiency is over 80%. Make electricity from nuclear sources, until the photovoltaic people can triple the efficiency of their products. And then we can all stop worrying about demand response.

Paul Stevens
Senior Technical Officer
Fire Protection

I am excited to see the Utility sector facilitate user conservation with pricing. As wireless technologies allow us to monitor our usage technologically scheduling less consumption will save users money and time. Electronic thermostats are a nice basic example of this.

In almost every situation where flat rates (as opposed to unit rates) are used consumption is bound to increase, approaching the flat max threshold. For example cellular phone plans; if I have 900 minutes monthly I will surely use that. If energy conservation is a goal, unit rates should be used. Driving the unit cost up during high demand periods just makes sense. As the product is in a more limited supply the cost should go up. Economies of scale are wonderful to provide universal service to underserved populations but once basic needs are met that consumption need to be curtailed before the supply is maxed out. Adjusting unit rates in accordance with fluctuating demand sounds like a wonderful management strategy for our US society. I know I am inclined to be more conservation minded if it hits me in the wallet.

Jonah Levine

I would like to share with you what The U.S. General Services Administration is doing in its Greater Southwest Region, which includes the State of Texas. GSA is installing advanced metering and data logging systems into its federal public buildings. The Region's Energy Team determined that it needed better data and information on GSA building energy use, in order to manage properly the buildings energy use. As you may know, the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) reports that energy/utility use, makes up approximately 30% of a commercial office building's operating costs. (I have seen other reports that suggest this number may be as high as 40%). Moreover, it is one of the few costs associated with a building that is capable of being influenced by management practices. The new metering systems capture information on a 15 min interval basis, and store it in a database. This data can also be transmitted over the Internet so that buildings can be monitored remotely from a central location in "real time". In lieu of waiting for a monthly utility bill to disclose a problem with energy use at the end of a month or two when the bill is processed by the finance department, a problem can be detected and corrected immediately. We are still discovering all of the benefits of having this additional data and its many uses.

GSA collects the data from its advanced metering devices to monitor the performance of building equipment such as chillers, fans, motors, pumps, cooling towers, etc. GSA then uses this information to obtain maximum or optimal efficiency as well as for tracking total building energy consumption and use.

GSA also makes use of this more accurate load profile data when it procures energy from the deregulated Texas markets. A Retail Electric Provider (REP) that is proposing on GSA's loads can present a more accurate offer if it has good information as to building loads and consumptive use patterns. Just as you indicated and described in your article, the time of use influences price. That way, GSA gets the most favorable pricing, which as taxpayers we all appreciate. REPs do not have to build into their proposals a "fudge factor" or margin of error to account for possible inaccuracy in the load profile, or the electricity use data, presented to them to bid upon. Furthermore, if the data indicates it to be cost effective to do so, GSA can install peak shaving, load shifting, thermal storage or other technology or processes to limits its energy costs. This helps us to make better business decisions on behalf of the public. While the Energy Policy Act of 2005 now requires federal buildings to implement advanced metering GSA was implementing this practice in GSW Region long before the Act become law.

Kevin Myles, GSA (7PMA)

While the benefits of charging real-time prices to retail electricity consumers may be obvious to economists, I believe it will be a challenge for the proponents of this approach to convince retail consumers this is a fair deal for them. To suggest, as Comverge Technologies CEO Robert Christie did in your article, that retail consumers benefit from a pricing regime that charges them more when they want to use electricity and less when they don't need it (2 AM was his example) doesn't strike me as very convincing. The argument that real-time pricing can reduce peak demand and therefore avoid the cost of additional generation is a real one but I think it is too esoteric for most consumers to grasp. State regulators were burned after deregulation's promise of lower prices didn't materialize. How likely is it that they will embrace a real-time pricing concept that effectively only offers retail consumers a choice between paying more for electricity or using less of it?

Stephen Muller
Troy, NY

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