Smart Meters

[dave1949]

Just saw an article today, utilities saying the grid tie homes not paying their "fair share" of their maintenance costs. my last bill has 24% as fees, not related to generation-transmission- distrbution.

Maybe. If my grid-tied system supplies all our power, I pay the current standard $8.91 per month service fee, but about half the time, the utility is supplying all my power (overnight, cloudy days).

Like electric cars using the roads, while not paying road use tax through gasoline sales.

[ultrarunner]

Like most things... follow the money!

[BobRip]

Like most things... follow the money!

Of course. Let's say we ban smart meters. I see the alternatives as follows.

Since people will not have an inventive to use more electricity during low use times we will built more power plants to handle the peak. Solar generation will be less feasible since they will not be paid more when supplying energy during peak usage. More power plants must be kept idling to handle the peak, thus operating at lower efficiency and increasing fuel cost. Wind power is less feasible since its peak enegy production at early morning hours becomes less valuable.

We complain about high energy rates and then complain when companies and government do things to reduce this.

[houstonscott]

The main thing to remember about smart meters is they do not make the grid more efficient. The information will be used to control you usage or access. Making reading more efficient is first step to get foot in the door to control usage realtime. None of which is good.

HS.

[tcreeley]

The main thing to remember about smart meters is they do not make the grid more efficient. The information will be used to control you usage or access. Making reading more efficient is first step to get foot in the door to control usage realtime. None of which is good.

HS.

we are being sold a bill of goods

[Leejohn]

We have had the meters for 2 years. Price pr kw has been $0.07 for a number of years for off season and they keep saying there is no price increase. Well thats true, but everyones bill has went way up. If you look at the KW's used from the year before and your way of living is the same or you have cut back, the kw's well be more. The meters I think can be turned up in speed or slowed down.
Let me say no matter how you save, like car pooling, cars getting more MPG, turn off everything in your house,phone and list just goes on. There is away they are going make up the lose. You just wait and see if the fuel cell that is being tested right now, my a few co's. every gets into our hands. Even if it does, it well be like the electric car that everyone had to give back.

[buickanddeere]

Remote metering also allows profiling of power usage. A typical family has different peaks and lows than a grow operation raising weed.
A simple software program will sort out the suspects in an entire utility in seconds.

[chopped]

We have had the meters for 2 years. Price pr kw has been $0.07 for a number of years for off season and they keep saying there is no price increase. Well thats true, but everyones bill has went way up. If you look at the KW's used from the year before and your way of living is the same or you have cut back, the kw's well be more. The meters I think can be turned up in speed or slowed down.
Let me say no matter how you save, like car pooling, cars getting more MPG, turn off everything in your house,phone and list just goes on. There is away they are going make up the lose. You just wait and see if the fuel cell that is being tested right now, my a few co's. every gets into our hands. Even if it does, it well be like the electric car that everyone had to give back.

They can be turned up or down at will?Doesnt this firstly not sure any purpose for having a meter? And wouldnt the Meters have to be regualted but the PUC? Like fuel pumps and the like?????

[Leejohn]

Yes I sure say they should be regulated, but I have never seen a meter replaced unless it's broke or up dated and never seen anyone spot checking any. The gas and weight scales are checked all the time. You still need a meter you have to go by something. I wonder who does regulate them? The only decal I have seen on them is "passed"
If they can read the meter and turn off and on your power from a remote place i don' see any reason they can't speed it up and slow down. I have a old meter that runs off of a new meter and I think I well shut everything down that is pulling off the new meter, but the shop that has old meter. That might tell me what I want to know?







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[buckeyefarmer]

When the Gov't got involved here by deregulating electric, is when the prices went up. Course they said it would go down, but it didn't. Personally I liked regulated utilities better, some govt involvement, but the utility could manage the grid as a system. Now that they have separated generation - transmission - and distribution, it's next to impossible to manage peak, cause who gets to turn theirs on. It has really complicated things. Peak shaving before was very simple, it was simply done by cost. Also, peak is normally during the day worktime hours, where residential loads are lower and commercial is the highest. Commercial already had time of day rates, and power factor penalties. commercial customers had to pay for inefficient operations. Residential loads increase at night, normally after the peak period. Where I used to work, we had an agreement with the power company to run our generators if they needed peak shaving help. My area still enjoys semi decent electric rates because of the number of coal plants, but that's about to change as the Govt stuck their noses in further and added more regulations intentionally to shut them down which is driving up prices. Course a bunch of these power plants are starting to convert to NG, as there is a glut of NG now thanks to the Marcellus and Utica shale boom in PA / WV / OH. So the gov't is now sticking their noses in that business to try to shut them down. I have a $2.50 charge each month on my bill that our state requires as part of their forced energy efficiency program. For this I got 6 CF light bulbs mailed to me by my utility, half came pre broken. And don't get me started on the friggin stormwater runoff tax they are going to implement.