Smart grid benefits that matter (it's not always about money)

You claim this study "reveals that many other smart grid benefits resonate with consumers beyond reducing their monthly electric bill.”

To bolster this, you note that respondents rated the following benefits as having the "highest overall importance":

1. Limiting the occurrence and duration of outages.

2. Obviating investments in new power plants; and,

offering new rate plans.

All of these directly or indirectly lead to costs that increase or add to consumers’ utility spending.

Power outages of any length result in out-of-pocket costs to consumers from spoiled food, lost work, unplanned transportation/meals/lodging costs, and purchase of alternative lighting, heating and power.

Utilities pass the cost of constructing new electric generation on to consumers.

The utilities themselves who tout the reduced monthly electric cost as the central benefit to consumers of Smart Meter deployment, via critical peak or time-of-use plans.

In fact, these "most important benefits" document the need for relief from the skyrocketing direct costs of electricity generation and transmission and the mounting indirect costs caused by the plummeting reliability and growing risk-burdens for consumers, that are the legacy of investor-owned utilities.

Consumers already suspect the savings of Smart Meters and Grids will be limited to utilities: firing meter readers and crews who cut-off power for delinquent payments; requiring consumers who can't pay the rising costs of power to buy into more expensive pay-as-you-go schemes;and added costs for software upgrades and proprietary communications systems necessary some Smart Meters require.

If power companies can't convince consumers and regulators of the benefits of Smart Grids, it's because they're not bringing their rate payers into the planning process and designing Smart Grids capable of delivering benefits consumers want. And because most won’t address the root problem of the uncontrolled costs of fossil and nuclear fuels.

Robert Robinson

DC Solar United Neighborhoods