How energy power meters are getting smarter

 Tag: energy power meter The digital box beeping on Karen Allen's kitchen counter wasn't much louder than a telephone, but she says it still turned her husband's hair gray. The device hooked into the power meter at the Allens' northwest Houston home, keeping track of how much they were spending for electricity at any given moment. When usage spiked, it sent out the warning. That simple bit of information was eye-opening, Allen said. "Until it beeped, we never realized how much energy we were using and wasting," Allen said of the device Reliant Energy gave them as part of a pilot program. "It definitely led us to change our habits." The pilot is over now, but it's a preview of the kinds of products and services Texans may be offered in the coming years as devices known as smart meters are installed on homes and businesses. Earlier this month, Houston-based CenterPoint Energy announced plans to deploy 250,000 smart meters beginning in 2009, with another 1.75 million to come later. Dallas utility Oncor will file its smart meter plan with regulators by this summer, and CPS Energy in San Antonio hopes to begin putting in meters by the middle of next year. The city of Austin already has started its meter installations. For customers, the meters can provide real-time information and control over power usage -- including billing plans that offer discounts on power used during off-peak hours in the evenings and weekends. Electric retailers will be able to offer new products that compete on more than just price. And for the operators of the electric grid, the meters eventually will eliminate door-to-door meter readers, provide information about outages and offer tools to cut peak power demand. That will limit the need to fire up the state's most expensive and inefficient power plants. The new meters won't come cheap. CenterPoint expects customers will be charged $4.75 per month for the meters over five years while all customers, regardless of whether they have smart meters, will pay another $1.75 per month for eight years to cover installation of new equipment throughout the grid. But pilot programs around the country indicate customers may lower their bills with the devices, and the overall price of power may be held in check. "We're really in the Dark Ages now in the way we sell consumers power," said Mark Jacobs, Reliant's president and chief executive. "Advanced meters have the potential to improve reliability, lower power usage and costs, and reduce the environmental footprint of the power industry." Controlled via BlackBerry The meters provide a link between homes and the electric grid. Used in combination with in-home "smart" devices, they let customers see how much power their appliances use and how much it costs, and control power use remotely. One of the most advanced roll-outs of smart meters is taking place in Milton, Ontario, involving Direct Energy, one of Texas' largest retailers. George Tsapoitis, an auto mechanic in Milton, said he can control his heating, air conditioning and several lights in his home through his handheld BlackBerry, even with his head buried under the hood of a car. His smart meter communicates with special light switches and his thermostat, products expected to become widely available through home improvement stores later this year. The system also lets Direct Energy turn down Tsapoitis' air conditioner for several hours should the grid face a surge in demand that could lead to blackouts, although Tsapoitis can still override the system. Time-of-use plans CenterPoint will install the first round of meters in the Houston area as electric retailers sign up customers for plans that take advantage of the features. Among the first offers customers likely will see are time-of-use plans that bill less per kilowatt-hour for power used during off-peak periods. TXU Energy already offers a time-of-use plan to some customers in the Dallas area, with a rate of 11.9 cents per kilowatt-hour for most of the day but 29.8 cents from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays. TXU Chief Executive Jim Burke said customers on the plans reduce their annual power consumption by an average of 5 percent to 7 percent. The flood of new products and plans that may accompany the smart meters could be overwhelming, adding another level of complexity to a market that is already confusing to many. But Jacobs thinks smart meters could change the way Americans use power for the better. The key is an intuitive user interface that doesn't overwhelm the user, he said. "It's incredibly important we get the customer experience right with this," Jacobs said. Effect on customers It may seem like a contradiction, power companies encouraging customers to buy less electricity. But Marcie Zlotnik, chief operating officer of electric retailer StarTex Power, said smart meters will allow companies to compete on more than just price. "With innovation comes so many opportunities to differentiate yourself, to give customers more value," Zlotnik said. "Once you do that you can attract more customers and better hold on to them."