Energy Biz - September/October 2008 - (Page 43) who cut down on energy use during critical periods. Under PG&E’s plan, there would be a limit of 15 critical peak days during each summer season. Motivating consumers to make such time-of-day changes in energy use is at the heart of the metering program. However, the utility hasn’t had time to collect enough customer data to reach any conclusions yet about the program’s effectiveness. The California utilities already provide some financial incentives for customers with analog meters who agree to shave their energy use by agreeing to short power cutoffs during peak periods, but the smartmeter programs allow for more real-time interactivity. Shaving the Peak J. Chris Baker, SDG&E’s chief technology officer, said smart meters will provide much better information about energy consumption to customers and provide better outage response capability to the utilities. He estimates that when all 1.4 million electric meters and 900,000 gas meters are installed by 2011, customers will reduce their energy consumption between 5 and 10 percent to capitalize on rebates. “The smart meters provide customers much better control over their energy use,” he said. “Since 20 percent of SDG&E’s peak response load is produced for just 1 percent of the time – about 100 hours each year – shaving that peak can have a big impact.” SCE’s Ziegler noted that the utility’s advanced metering project is still in a pre-deployment stage involving network design, logistical planning and field testing of the communications systems between the utility and the smart meters. However, SCE expects to deploy more than 6,000 smart meters a day beginning in 2009 with installation completed in 2012. Like her counterparts, Ziegler believes the smart technology will save the utility the cost of meter reading, allow for remote customer hook-ups and disconnects, and lead to greater energy efficiency. “By the time this is completed in 2012, there will be a lot of budget and usage information available to customers on the Web, and customers will be able to see the rates they are paying,” she said. Like the other utility executives, Ziegler said the issue of whether California utility customers participate in time-of-use energy programs that would raise the cost of power during peak hours “should be a matter of customer choice.” The utilities are building the smart system, but they won’t mandate that their customers utilize it. Privately, however, they expect the PUC will make that choice for them once the system is fully implemented in four years, and state energy planners face the prospect of rising demand on an already overtaxed energy generation and transmission system. At that point, California utility customers likely will see dramatic changes in the way they pay for energy. Hooked on the Smart Grid David Elve – Record-breaking sports fisherman, water skier, history fanatic, smart grid consultant It’s not just the lure of hooking the biggest catch that continually draws Dave Elve back to deep oceans. It’s also the appeal of uncovering what’s hidden below the surface and the confidence that knowing where to look, what to do, and how to remain calm, patient and focused will net the results he’s seeking. Add his 15 years of utility and IT expertise to the mix, and it’s clear why he’s one of the industry’s world-class executive consultants. With a focus on AMI, MDMS, demand response and other smart grid components, Dave tackles the toughest challenges facing utilities today — and never fails to land the big one. © 2008 Enspiria Solutions, Inc., an Osmose company. Real People with Inspired Solutions to Real Problems www.enspiria.com • 303.741.8400 www.energycentral.com E n E rgyB i z 43 http://www.enspiria.com http://www.enspiria.com http://www.energycentral.com
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