Smart meters, those devices Gov Ed Rendell wanted to have installed in 2007, are back. Remember when Rendell suggested it? PECO was less than thrilled. From "PA may give 'smart' electrical power a try," by Jeff Gelles, Inquirer, Sept. 10, 2007:
Peco and most of its counterparts have resisted Rendell's "smart meter" proposals, particularly a requirement that advanced meters be installed in all customers' homes and businesses within six years.
"We're not opposed to smart meters," said Peco spokeswoman Mary Rucci. "It's important to conserve -- we certainly support demand-side management. But we have to be very aware how customers would react to it and what the costs would be."
Some of the argument centers on just how smart a smart meter needs to be.
Rucci said Peco's current meters would allow real-time pricing with a $40 million upgrade. But she said the utility's cost would rise to $300 million, nearly $200 per customer, if it were required to install a higher-tech meter capable, for instance, of ratcheting back a home's air-conditioning when power prices soar on a hot summer day.
PECO's tune has changed. From "Peco, PSE&G debut 'smart-meter plans" by Andrew Maykuth, Inquirer August 7, 2009:
Peco Energy Co. yesterday offered its vision of the electrical grid of the future:
In a few years, "smart" electric meters will be able to do much more than measure the power consumed in customers' homes. They will tell customers how much money they are spending on electricity in real time, and offer options for cutting costs.
"Your air conditioner will be able to talk to your dishwasher and sequence their usage to save money," Glenn Pritchard, a Peco engineer, said as he surveyed a table of meters and thermostats at the utility's Center City headquarters.
Where's the money coming from? At least in part, federal stimulus funding.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment