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Quick Take: Blue Line Innovations has just partnered to add a helpful software layer to its existing PowerCost Monitor, which has a street price of roughly $100. The monitor clips onto meters to read and record consumption data. Then it uses the home's WiFi network to send that data over the Internet into its service.

Now Blue Line has partnered to make the People Power energy management app compatible with the PowerCost Monitor. The app lets you use a smart phone to monitor usage in real time, get comparisons to other households and track your progress against your energy budget.

This is nowhere near the set-and-forget automated functionality that energy consumers need and deserve. But it is certainly an improvement over the now-defunct Microsoft Hohm and Google Powermeter. But it is only an improvement for those who qualify. If you are:

• a low-income family without an extra $100 to shell out
• an apartment dweller without access to an individual meter
• someone with a wired Internet connection (or no connection at all)
• someone who does not have an iPhone or Android phone

... then you can't participate.

I'm not complaining about Blue Line, which has engineered a clever workaround. But you've got to love the irony. The nation has already spent billions to put smart meters in roughly 1/5 of all premises. But we're not smart enough to get the information they gather to consumers in a way that lets them save energy. Consumers are forced to buy a device to clip onto meters, shanghai the data and send it to a third-party company via Wi-Fi to the Internet. – By Jesse Berst

"This is a huge step forward for consumers. As we know information is only the first baby step, what the consumer chooses to do with that information or what that data can enable in the home is the key. Early attempts such as the dashboards created by Microsoft Hohmâ„¢ or Google PowerMeterâ„¢ were terrific first steps but People Power 1.0 takes the feature set and the opportunity for full family engagement to a whole new level," said Blue Line CEO Peter Porteous.

PeoplePower 1.0 gets live data feeds every 32 seconds from the PowerCost Monitor Wi-Fi gateway. PeoplePower 1.0 features include:

·         Real-time energy use monitoring, immediate and in trend charts

·         Energy use benchmarking (compare against others)

·         Set budgets and get recommendations (and get real-time alerts to avoid surprises at the end of the month)

·         Compete against friends with energy efficiency quizzes

Blue Line says more features are coming for the easily-installed PeoplePower 1.0.

Jesse Berst is the founder and chief analyst of Smart Grid News.com. He consults to smart grid companies seeking market entry advice and M&A advisory. A frequent keynoter at industry events in the US and abroad, he also serves on the Advisory Council of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's Energy & Environment directorate.

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