It will be essential for the program administrators to accurately educate their new crop of participants on how to take advantage of the potential benefits as well as limit any ideas that they are guaranteed. Initially, fear of the unknown will be a difficult hurdle to cross. However acceptance will come as soon as savings are understood and realized. This takes work from both engaged and educated participants to administrators who must be determined to figure out just how to engage and educate.
This initiative begs to ask the wider question, what if the rest of the country was automatically switched to real-time pricing?
Overall, it would be a great. One thing that Power Smart Pricing has shown is that participants with all types of housing size, hvac equipment, and usage have enjoyed savings. Some households would be better off than others, and surely there would be people who end up spending more, but in general America's bills would go down. The price curve would flatten and be less volatile as there would be more conservation during higher prices and more usage during lower priced hours.
Appliances would see a new era of innovation. Consumers would demand products that could react and shift to changing price demands. Products like the commercial-centric Ice Bear from Ice Energy that cools ice over night during cheaper evening prices to then use as an alternative to the expensive compressor during the peak afternoon periods would be more refined and aimed at homeowners.
This change would bring energy consumption closer to energy costs. The electricity market would be a vastly different stage. Again, we must commend our Power Smart Pricing participants as catalysts for more and more experimentation and confidence in the area of real-time pricing. Much of the consumer benefit of the expanded information with the smart grid depends on this pricing choice. The Burbank project will be closely watched.
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