Southern California Edison announced last Friday that 4.8
million of its customers will reap the benefits of its news
$1.63 billion smart-metering program. Some 5.3 million
meters will be installed (some customers will get more than
one meter) by the California utility between 2009 and 2012.
Unsure as to how smart metering will work or why utilities
are investing in it? SCE explains:
Meter Communicates With Utility to Save Power & Money
The Edison SmartConnect system will allow customers with
communicating, energy-smart thermostats and appliances to
automatically respond during critical peak pricing and grid
reliability events. This will reduce the overall peak power
consumption by an estimated 1,000 megawatts — the entire
output of a major power plant. SCE’s new meters will also be
able to “talk” through home area networks, providing
customers with near real-time energy use and cost
information to enable energy conservation.
The Edison SmartConnect system has the ability to provide
the information from the meter into the home through a
two-way wireless interface allowing customers to immediately
see how their actions affect usage. The result is expected
to increase sustained energy conservation that will reduce
emissions of greenhouse gases and smog-forming pollutants by
a minimum of 365,000 metric tons per year — the equivalent
of removing 79,000 cars from the road. The system will make
remote service activations possible, enabling the
approximate 1 million SCE customers who relocate each year
to activate service on demand. It will also support
widespread adoption of solar installations, plug in hybrid
vehicles, energy storage, and other clean technologies that
will drive greater environmental benefits.
Increasingly, many people are saying that upgrading the
United States’ power transmission grid, including turning it
all into a smart grid (a big task...), will be a key factor
in enabling the full potential of renewable energy to be
reached.
Costa Rica, San José
Barbados, Bridgetown
Guinea, Conakry
Slovakia, Bratislava
Argentina, Buenos Aires
Comoros, Moroni
Cape Town (legislative)
Viet Nam, Hanoi
Kiribati, Tarawa
Republic of Sri Lanka, Colombo
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