Smart Grid Proof?

[Bob Bruninga]

>Yes Bob, I've heard that story more than a few times
>the last several years from companies trying to raise
>investment dollars.

while I agree that there are far more crooks and scammers trying to make a quick buck on the ignorance of the consumer, the fact remains, that our grid is over a century old and just as old in its billing systems.  I guess we will have to agree to disagree. 

> What you reference is called "demand 
> response control." ...about residential 
> usage, nor can it impact usage very much. 

I disagree completely.  It may not impact much for people unwilling to change, but over the years, we must change from our wanton wastful consumption of energy.

>it's been shown several times now that *NO* 
>instrumentation is needed to impact residential 
>consumption... if they simply include a page in
>the bill that shows how your household does 
>relative to other households "like yours",
>people get within 10-15% of the maximum difference
>they could make (with perfect knowledge, smart 
>appliances, etc, etc)with no other information.

SO true, but not at all an argument to do nothing towards real-time cost feedback and control.

>Lemme repeat this: they can do almost EVERYTHING 
>hat can be done for residential consumption 
>without doing ANYTHING except installing
>some additional billing software,...

BUT ONLY IN THE CASE OF OUR CURRENT FIXED PRICE STRUCTURE.  Throw in the additional information of when electricity is 2 to 3 times higher, or 3 to 5 times lower, and cost conscious users can get a HUGE additional savings.  Old people stuck-in their ways will not see savings, and will pay more... as they should.

>so while this all sounds great in theory
>the difference between theory and practice 
>in theory is greater than the difference 
>between theory and practice in practice

but you are also ignoring the huge impact of the future electrical transportation system.  The grid in just 2 years is going to be seeing loads it has never seen before at times it has not seen befor as every carm MFR on the planet is bringing out electric cars as fast as they can make them.   Ignoring the potential for using managing the leveling of the grid through the energy storage available in 350 million electic cars to the grid's benefit is not something to blindly ignore based on past ideas.

So I guess we will just have to agree to disagree.

Bob, Wb4APR