Smart Grid, AMI, DRI and old fashioned AMR are expensive propositions and care needs to be taken not to scare off customers who will in turn scare off Public Service Commissions from approving full cost recovery. There is a lot of hype surrounding these initiatives. If customers cannot benefit, then there may be no benefit and the "smart grid" and “advanced metering” bubbles will burst.

Hopefully SCE considered that their move could have cascading ramifications such as leading to expensive lawsuits down the line. In addition, many utilities will now also want to jump on the bandwagon and will take this as a challenge to seek a special angle to "smart grid" and “advanced metering” that they too can patent thereby taking their eye off the ball and causing a major distraction. The favorable Texas PSC ruling on advanced metering has potential to become precedent setting, something we do not want to adversely affect. However, if customers and PSC's in other states see moves like this with underlying profit motive and/or presenting obstacles to free market enterprise and/or creating unnecessary red tape, then utilities in other states will not get the necessary level of cost recovery, thereby skewing the return on investment calculations and benefits to customers and killing "smart grid" and “advanced metering” projects.

As long as SCE has considered the potential for a negative customer impact and is willing to back away, there may be no issue.