Does the Smart Grid Need "Smart" Consumers?

As we get to watch the initial development and deployment of the smart grid, many people are trying to predict what it will ultimately look like. There are many eager stakeholders surrounding the issue from all sides. Entrepreneurs are looking for their niche, environmentalists are looking to reduce carbon emissions, and consumers are looking to make life a little cheaper to navigate.

While there is still much uncertainty, pilot projects and studies are setting some guidelines. Researchers have found that one of the keys to energy and cost savings comes from giving residential utility customers access to a dynamic pricing plan (real-time market based pricing, hourly day-ahead pricing, or time-of-use rates).  However within all the possibility of new economic development and efficiency, there are skeptics fearing that investment into a smart grid might not bear its potential due to consumers who would not be able to respond to the new dynamics. Power Smart Pricing customers are pivotal pioneers in proving that it does not take sophisticated technologies or a certain passion to achieve the milestones a complete smart grid offers.

We have used the Ambient Price Light and now twitter to get our customers price information, and we are actively seeking out new opportunities. Data from past summers has shown that energy consumption has been diverted away from peak times and lessens the need for electricity generation to come from the least efficient and dirtiest sources reserved for critical power peaks. Power Smart Pricing customers are now saving 17% since the beginning of the program in 2007 compared to what they would have paid had they stayed on the standard flat rate.

Power Smart Pricing customers have all made the decision on their own that this type of program is a better option for their household. They have used their own factors to weigh its benefits, but in the end they are just ordinary people doing as they always do. Our customers deserve all the credit, and they are shaping the expansion of the smart grid whether they know it or not.

Check out this interesting discussion on the topic of "Smart Consumers."