The Infamous Smart Meter

In my previous post I wrote about energy efficiency and how the Smart Grid can help us develop better ways of generating and transmitting energy. One component of the Smart Grid that is currently attracting a lot of media attention is the Smart Meter. Considering all of the controversy surrounding the installation of Smart Meters around the country, especially here in California, I thought it would be a good idea to learn more about the benefits they can provide as well as examine some of the concerns being raised by various groups.

So what exactly is a Smart Meter? A Smart Meter is a device that keeps a record of a household’s energy consumption. It gathers data on how much electricity is being used, at what times, and by what appliance (e.g., fridge, air conditioner, etc). This information is transmitted wirelessly to utility companies throughout the day, usually in intervals of one hour or less, and is made available to consumers in an online account. Meter proponents argue that they allow consumers to reduce their electricity bills because they are made aware of their energy consumption patterns and can see in detail how energy is being used in their homes. In addition to these savings, some utility companies are rewarding consumers with lower prices if they reduce their consumption during times of high demand; information that utility companies can relay to consumers through in-home displays or even text messages. The additional benefit from Smart Meters is that overall demand for electricity should drop because consumers would be using their power more efficiently. This would be good for the environment because less demand = less coal burning = less greenhouse gases.

                What’s the problem then? Well, things don’t always work exactly as planned. Some homes that have had Smart Meters installed have actually had their electricity bills increase! For example, an article from USA Today reports that one California woman’s bill went from $450 a month to $1800 after a Smart Meter was installed in her home. Similar cases have been reported to utility companies nationwide and there are growing concerns that these new meters are inaccurate. However, utility companies deny this and have said that the new meters are more accurate than the old ones, which is why their bills have gone up. Right.

                Another major concern raised by opponents is that Smart Meters pose a health risk to society. Since Smart Meters transmit information wirelessly, opponents argue that they expose people to radiation from radio frequencies, which can be harmful. Several people have reported symptoms such as nausea, migraines, muscle spasms, and insomnia after Smart Meters were placed in their homes or neighborhoods. However, there is no scientific link between Smart Meters and any adverse health effects. A study by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) found that the radio frequency emissions from Smart Meters were way below the FCC safety guidelines. Comparing Smart Meter radio emissions to other common household items also shows that they actually emit less radiation than other products.

                Finally, a third concern that caught my attention has to do with privacy. There is a concern that utility companies will sell our energy consumption data to third-parties. Worse, hackers who are able to break into the system and access our data would know “…personal details about the lives of consumers, such as their daily schedules (including times when they are at or away from home or asleep), whether their homes are equipped with alarm systems, whether they own expensive electronic equipment such as plasma TVs, and whether they use certain types of medical equipment” (Department of Energy). Scary stuff.

                After learning more about Smart Meters and some of the issues being raised, I’m a little divided on where I stand. I do want our country to become more energy efficient, but it seems like there are still a lot of holes that need to be filled. I think privacy is very important to a lot of people, so if utilities and policy makers want consumers to get on board they’re going to have to make data security a top priority. But since this information will be up on the web, can it really ever truly be safe?

Keeping Up with Demand: The Smart Grid

The film “End of Suburbia” and the discussions we had in class about peak oil and our dependence on cheap energy really got me thinking about just how incredibly important a reliable supply of energy is to our society. If the Media Consumption assignment taught us anything, it’s that technology is deeply embedded in our daily lives.  Cars, refrigerators, TV’s, computers, phones, and most other things we rely on all need energy to function, and as our dependence on technology grows, so will our demand for energy. This is especially true for electricity. But can our current electrical grid keep up with the growth in demand and meet our future needs? Can we expect energy prices to stay relatively stable as the years go by? If you answered no and you wish to these questions, you’re probably right.

Our current grid is not designed to deal with the demands of the 21^st century. According to a Department of Energy Report titled “The Smart Grid: An Introduction,” electricity demand is expected to grow  30% by 2030 and prices are expected to increase 50% over the next 7 years. Demand is being driven by population growth and by consumers’ growing use of technological products. Since 1982, growth in electricity demand has exceeded growth in the grid’s transmission capacities by 25% each year. The closer we get to reaching full capacity, the more problems pop up. Blackouts and brownouts are becoming more common and grid operators are having a hard time responding. What caught my attention from the report was that in the past 40 years there have been five massive blackouts in the U.S. and three of those occurred during the past nine years. Even so, the amount of R&D spending set aside by the utility companies-a critical component for innovation- ranks at the bottom of most industries. Not much change is taking place.

So what is our government doing to try to prevent these foreseeable problems from causing damage in the future? For one thing, the Obama Administration wants to invest in the construction of a Smart Grid. Through the American Reinvestment Act of 2009, Congress secured 4.5 billion in funding for the modernization of the electric grid system. This new grid would allow for 2-way communication between energy producers and consumers and would make full use of 21^st century technologies to enhance the electric delivery system by making generation, transmission, distribution, and consumption of energy more efficient. Remember those black outs I mentioned earlier? Under our current system customers actually have to call the utility company to report that light has been cut off at their residence. Under the Smart Grid however, grid operators would receive this information almost immediately and would be able to respond much more quickly. Other components of the Smart Grid, such as Smart Meters, would allow for better consumer choices by providing consumers with data on how their energy consumption varies by time of day and by home appliance. The economic theory behind this is that if consumers know how much energy they are consuming and what appliances are using up the most power, they will be able to modify their behavior to optimize their energy use. This should save both utilities and households money since waste would be reduced which would hopefully keep prices down.

It is crucial that our electric grid undergo the proposed transformation as soon as possible. Not only will it generate savings for households, it is also good for the environment. This new smart grid allows for a more efficient implementation of renewable sources of energy, such as solar and wind, and since we currently produce half of our energy by burning coal, it would significantly reduce our country’s carbon footprint. This is important considering we're one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gases worldwide (see below). I'm looking forward to seeing the Smart Grid in action, because saving the world and some money at the same time doesn’t sound half bad to me.