Energy mix, demand response, peaked plants, it the smart grid?

Smart meters allow for more sustainable generation by utility companies AND allow customers means to conserve energy and money.

I hate when progressives land on the wrong side of a subject.

there is a one-time $75 fee and $10 per month surcharge.

I found this:

Check this: http://www.smartgrid.gov/

I've had several discussions with people about both meters and smart grid.

First, often the higher bills are due to the older meters mis-measuring electrical use; customers were getting free power for years. Some complain, others are grateful for the freebies.

Second, time of use really impacts cost of generation. Times of high demand require more expensive and less environmentally friendly forms of generation, so if you apply the rules of supply and demand on an hourly basis, higher costs during high demand make sense.

But it takes smart meters to know at what times your usage is high or low.

Another way to look at the same dynamic is to say that smart meters make it possible to know when you're shifting load to low demand so that you can be charged LESS for it.

Basically, you go online and can see when your usage is occurring.

Since when is knowledge a bad thing? (is what I tell the freepers)

figured out what percentage of your usage was peak since all they got was a number reading.

Check out the link below to see what a smart meter can do:

http://solarguard.solarcity.com/Kiosk/SolarGuard.aspx?JID=77b84e66-41a5-4b41-ac7c-7c7e2a793981

This is a large building with a solar carport generation system.

The red curve shows energy use over a 24 hour period, the green bars are solar energy being created.

Your home system would provide a similar view with respect to hourly usage.

Typically, you can also look at any day in the past and select a one-week, one-month, and one-year view.

Compare your use year over year to see if you're saving, see how much that hot spell cost you, identify the best times to do laundry, install a fan!

The idiots fighting this don't realize that the utility companies do NOT make more profit based on more sales; 1982 decoupling laws ensure that:

http://www.nrdc.org/onearth/06spr/ca3.asp

Freepers hate smart meters, environmentalists love them.

bother to read what I actually wrote, it says f it does not benefit you... so the question must be answered before assessing value.

As I explained.

And it's true that Freepers hate it just as they hate fuel mileage standards.

the radio waves that they generate. Is that something to be worried about? Thx.

Radio waves are pretty much everywhere.

that the waves from a smart meter are many times stronger than that of a cell phone. I've read 100 times stronger though I'm not sure what that translates to in terms of health risk, or if it's even true.

They didn't change the rates, we did not get moved to time-of-use rates or anything like that, but our bills went way up,
as did everyone else's in the neighborhood.

So you've been getting a break all these years.