An Edison Foundation brief shows what a huge shot in the arm stimulus funding has been for smart meter deployments, a major part of smart grid development. However, no sooner did the meter hit the wall then the skirmishes began. Pilots including new pricing models for energy shook up customers from California to Texas and also raised questions about who owns (and protects) customer data.

With the promise of the smart grid – greater efficiency, customer control, new product innovation, and integration of renewables – let’s hope we can avoid some of pitfalls that stalled and nearly crippled e-commerce during the internet bonanza. We will need to fix the technology, to be sure. More importantly, we need to build confidence among consumers that smart grid benefits are real and the risks are small and getting smaller.
This is a real communications challenge that involves more than consumer education. Many utilities will need to re-think how and where they talk with their customers. Many are already moving in that direction. Watch for the success stories – and stumbles – to come.
- Potomac Communications Group
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