In a decision that was a pleasant surprise for some and a serious bummer for others, the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) knocked down Baltimore Gas & Electric's (BG&E) proposal to have customers pay most of the initial costs of a Smart Grid metering project, and said the utility should pay some of the $835 million project cost. BG&E President Kenneth DeFontes was quoted in the Baltimore Sun newspaper as saying he was "dumbfounded" by the decision. PSC members explained their decision this way: "The proposal asks BG&E's ratepayers to take significant financial and technological risks and adapt to categorical changes in rate design, all in exchange for savings that are largely indirect, highly contingent and a long way off." Consumer advocates praised the decision as a win for consumers, but a Gridwise® Alliance statement said the Smart Grid advocacy organization was "extremely disappointed" in the PSC action. While the PSC said BG&E is welcome to return with a revised proposal, DeFontes said he was hard-pressed to see how his company could do so in light of the ruling. BG&E had won approval for a $200 million Smart Grid stimulus grant to help reduce the cost of the proposed five-year meter deployment, but the Energy Department is saying — tactfully — use it or lose it. DOE will consider allocating the funds elsewhere if BG&E can't continue with the project.
Quick Take: If you haven't guessed, this is a severe "uh-oh" moment that could reach well beyond Baltimore. The Maryland PSC decision could trigger similar responses from other regulators and make other utilities with pending metering projects gun-shy, to say the least.
You might also be interested in ...
BG&E Unveils Ambitious Metering Initiative
BG&E Takes Its Smart Grid Case to Regulators
Smart Grid Fallout: Lessons to Learn from PG&E’s Smart Meter Lawsuit
Anti-Meter Fever Spreads as Regulator and Customer Mistrust Grows
Related SGN news and resources ...
Smart Metering News and Insights
Smart Grid Stimulus Awards and Projects
Customer Care in the Smart Grid Era
Stay connected with SGN …
|
© 2010 SmartGridNews |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||